Runners
by tallonran
Summary: Circumstances throw three unwilling dragons into a desperate fight for their survival. Running from an unfamiliar enemy, they must learn to adapt to their new strange new world and work together while being pursued by unknown forces.
1. Prolouge

Runners Prologue

It was the end of the world, literally.

Rorick could feel the earth shaking beneath his feet as he ran deeper into the series of underground caverns. Every nerve in his body screamed for him to get out into open air, to turn back to the surface, but his mind knew better. Fires raged across the surface of the world, spewing from large cracks forming in the earth and threatening to devour anything in their path. If he had stayed on the surface, he would have died in seconds. At least underground, he could lengthen that time to minutes.

Taking a sharp right turn, Rorick delved into a tunnel taking him deeper underground. His earth element at least gave him a sense of direction in the otherwise pitch black environment, but the crumbling stone around him and the intense shaking of the earth made progress difficult. He didn't understand why he was running. He couldn't get away from the inevitable destruction of the planet. No one could.

Rumors had spread of the return of Spyro and Cynder and their quest to defeat Malefor, but it didn't seem to matter in the end. The destroyer had completed the ring of fire and the world now faced destruction on an unparalleled scale. No one could escape; the situation was hopeless.

Nevertheless, fear drove Rorick deeper underground. Through his panicked mind, subtle thoughts trickled through his head. He missed his family, or at least what might be left of it. At sixteen he had been left alone at home while both his parents went off to fight the war against Malefor. He hadn't seen them in a year. Now, all he wanted was to be close to them one more time before his life would reach its inevitable end. A single tear trickled down Rorick's face as he dodged more debris falling from the ceiling. He had been out in the wilderness by himself hunting when the ordeal had finally started, his finely tuned element giving him some warning before the massive spasms began to rock the planet. He had barely made it into a nearby cave before the outside world crumbled around him. Luckily for him, the cave seemed to be part of an extensive network, and fear had driven him down one of the tunnels in a desperate attempt for survival.

Turning yet another corner, Rorick was shocked to see dim firelight lighting the cave passage in front of him. Straining his legs, Rorick struggled to catch up to the light in front of him, heavier debris beginning to pelt his hard scales as the shaking around him intensified. If he was going to die, maybe he wouldn't die by himself.

Slowly, Rorick drew closer to the source of the light. Shaky details began to emerge in the eerie darkness of the tunnel. Two dragons hurried their way through the rubble in front of him, their only source of light a small touch one of the dragons carried in its mouth. A dark yellow dragon carried the torch while leading a slightly smaller red dragon behind him. Although Rorick couldn't determine finer details, he could tell the yellow dragon was a male from his fuller build and pronounced muscles; the red dragon following him was obviously female, her smaller form outlined by the slim curvature of her body.

Taking a few more bounding steps, Rorick closed the short distance between himself and the two other dragons. His heavy footsteps alerted them to his presence. Turning around, the yellow dragon looked at Rorick in shock through the light of the torch he carried in his mouth.

Rorick looked at both dragons quickly. "I don't mean to be rude or short on introductions, but we need to get somewhere safer." As if to emphasize his point, another layer of rocky debris showered down onto the small group of dragons.

The yellow dragon nodded in understanding before speaking through the wood in his mouth. "Come on, this way"

Rorick wordlessly followed the two dragons as they turned down the only passageway available to them. They quickly moved around the rubble in the dimly lit passageway, the lightning dragon's torch barely illuminating their passage. As he followed the dragon, Rorick tried to get a better view of his companions. He could only see brief flashes of the dragoness in front of him, and the torch silhouetted the yellow dragon leading them, so any glimpse of the dragons was short and cloudy. From their color alone, Rorick would guess the yellow dragon was a lighting dragon while the red dragoness held power over fire.

After what seemed like an eternity in the cataclysm around them, the yellow dragon walked the group into a larger cavern in the tunnel system. Rorick could immediately tell it was the end of the system as he looked at the circular enclosure around them. It seemed to be a bit of poetic justice… that an earth dragon like him would have his final resting place deep within the crust of the planet.

Walking around the circular cavern, the yellow dragon confirmed Rorick's assumption as he brought the torches light to bear on the walls of the cavern. They could go no deeper. This would be where they died.

The lightning dragon curled around the dragoness as they huddled down in the corner. Rorick could see his own fear reflected in their eyes. Walking over next to them, Rorick laid down at a respectful distance, resigning himself to his inevitable fate. The groaning of the planet around them seemed distant as they sat secluded in the room together.

Rorick looked over at the other dragons. "I know this is hardly time for introductions, but I'm Rorick."

The lightning dragon stuck his torch upright into a crevice in the ground before speaking. "I'm Krayt."

Beside him, the red dragoness picked her head up off the ground. Rorick could see the tears in her eyes and hear the fear in her voice. "I'm Aurora, I suppose it's nice to meet you, but I wish it could have been under better circumstances." As she finished, the red dragoness buried her head into the side of the male.

Rorick nodded in agreement before setting his head down on the ground. There really wasn't anything to talk about. Slowly, Rorick felt himself grow in tune with the world around him, each vibration in the earth seeming to send a message to the young earth dragon. He could feel his soul breaking like the world around him. The rumbling in the earth seemed intensified. Rorick could feel his teeth rattle from the immense strain on his body. As his body began to feel like it would shake itself apart, the shaking around him reached a climax. A brilliant wave of purple energy flashed through the room, briefly blinding Rorick while making him gasp at its immense power. He could feel the mass of pure energy surge through his body, making his muscles tense while awing him at its appearance. Almost as soon as it had appeared, the light was gone, headed towards the surface above their heads. All around them, the groaning in the earth seemed to fade away.

After a few moments of awe struck silence, Krayt broke the silence. "What was that?"

Rorick replied by shaking his head, a slight amount of excitement in his voice. He had picked up on something the others may not have. "I have no idea, but listen. Something's changed."

Instead of shaking itself apart, the ground seemed to groan as one entity. The others may not have noticed it, but he could barely sense their change in direction. He couldn't believe it, the earth seemed to be pulling itself back together.

Rorick let out a blissful laugh, startling the other two dragons in the room with him.

The lightning dragon looked at him in concern. "What?"

Rorick turned to him with a smile on his face. "I don't know what happened, or why, but the world… it seems to be pulling itself back together."

"What?" This time the question was more from shock than confusion.

Rorick smiled again. "Listen…"

Sure enough, all around them large thuds could be heard as pieces of the earth shifted back into a connection with each other. As time progressed, the thuds became fewer and father away as their section of the planed pieced itself together.

Aurora's voice broke the silence in the room once again. "They did it! I don't know how, but Spyro and Cynder must have done it!"

Rorick smiled inwardly to himself. As much as he had wanted to discredit the possibility of the two dragons saving the world when he heard the rumors of their return, he couldn't be happier for them.

"Wait." Krayt's voice carried a hint of fear as he spoke, removing the smile that had spread across Rorick's face. "Do you feel that?"

Rorick stood in silence for a moment. The rumbling around them had long ceased, and as an earth dragon, he would have been the most in tune with the sensations of the earth around him. However, as he was opening his mouth to answer, he started to feel sharp pricks of energy against the back of his neck.

All three dragons looked up to see a faint purple glow emanate from the ceiling above them. They all knew something was coming.

The purple wave passed through the room in the opposite direction, this time coming from the ceiling at moving towards the floor. Rorick knew that it was the force pulling the world back together. This time the wave seemed to move incredibly slowly, taking its time in dropping from the ceiling. As the wave inched closer, he could feel the immense amount of power radiating form the wave again, although this time, it seemed to have increased exponentially.

Rorick grit his teeth as the wave approached his head, the energy sending spikes of pain shooting through his skull. Looking to his side, he could see the other two dragons in the room curl into a tighter ball.

As the wave came closer, Rorick dropped to the ground, the pain radiating though his body becoming unbearable. He could barely make out the cries from the other two dragons as they too felt the effects of the wave.

Rorick let out a roar of anguish as the purple wave finally cam in contact with his body, sending a wave of sheer pain to every nerve. Unable to cope with the pain, Rorick could feel his conciseness slip away, leaving him in complete darkness as the wave of energy completed is slow trek back to the center of the planet.

He hated his job; especially at this time of night.

Every time his superiors detected the smallest anomaly in his area, he and his team would be tasked with investigating the area in question, whatever the time or conditions were. It seemed like a simple job, but after time and time again resulting in a search for nothing, he began to question the logic of his tasks.

The terrain constantly caused problems for him and his team. The thick forest restricted them to foot searches on the sometimes massive areas they were tasked with investigating, and with a ten man team, the task often took hours if not days. Thankfully, the area in question was relatively small this time - A small acre of land miles away from any form of civilization. It would only take them a few minutes to around an hour to cover. However, the inky blackness of the night and thick tree cover forced the team to search by low powered flashlights, making their task even more painstakingly slower than it needed to be.

Once the small shenanigan was over, they could return to their dull lives of waiting constantly, twenty-four seven, three hundred and sixty five days a year, for the next call from their superiors.

Working on the sly didn't help either. Their number one rule was to not let anyone know of their operation. Unmarked, inconspicuous vehicles would always take them to their destination, their gear held no patches or insignias to connect them to any organization, and they were always told to leave without a trace. He understood the need for such secrecy. Their organization was of a… unique… nature, but after time and time again of false alarms at the most ridicules times of the day, he couldn't help but wonder about the necessity of his job.

Regardless, he was here to do a job. And the faster he did it, the faster he could go home. Pulling out his GPS, he could see his squad had just reached the boundary of the search area. He reached for the working parts on his rifle; pulling them smoothly into position. He released the small latch and the mechanism shot forward with a loud 'click', feeding a round into the chamber. Shouldering his rifle, the man turned around to address his torch lit squad for the same, boring brief he had given numerous times before.

"Alright, you know the drill. Keep you weapons at the ready at all times. We search this area and report any unusual findings. If you find anything, call for support and we will report it. If we don't find anything… like we always do… we go home. Any questions?"

Not a single hand rose.

"I though so. Alright, spread out and search the area."

Without another word, his squad paired up and disappeared into the forest around him. He himself paired up with one of the newer members of his squad and shone his torch into the thick line of tree trunks and bushes. Slowly, He lowered the beam of light and started to walk around the outside boundary of the designated area.

One of his subordinate's thoughts shook him out of his musings.

"Sir, over here! You're not going to believe this!"

His interest perked, the man double-checked his weapon's to make sure the safety catch was off before racing through the forest towards the source of the call. Breaking through the brush, he could see two of his team members pointing their fire-arms and torches over three piles of colored scales ground. Three inhuman bodies.

"They're all alive sir." The solider reported back to his commander as he knelt over one of the bodies, though uncertainty laced his voice. "What are your orders?" They had all been trained. They all knew what their job entitled. But they had never expected to actually find something they were looking for.

Lying on the ground in front of him were three large dragons.

The discovery did not startle him. He had been long trained to familiarize himself with situations such as these. 'Expect the unexpected' they had always told him, and in a situation like this, that training finally seemed to pay off.

Pressing onto the black earpiece settled in his ear, he began a call back to his superiors. This was bigger than anything they had expected. His call was immediately picked up on the other side. Any call on such a frequency was restricted to matters of utmost importance, and any call was treated as a serious endeavor.

The rest of his team trickled into the small clearing as he began his conversation. He pointed at 3 three of his comrades and motioned them to move off into the direction of their vehicles. They nodded and broke out of the clearing at a light jog following their flashlight beams. All of them remained in silence as he spoke.

"Sir, you are not going to believe what we just found."

**A/N This is a co-write between me and another author on DA. We work on it in tandem, but he doesn't have a FF profile so he has given me permission to post it under mine collectively. If you want to check out his profile or any of his works, his screen name is Spriggs272 on DeviantArt. Please comment and tell us what you think. I will pass on any comments to Spriggs as well**


	2. Chapter 1

Runners - Chapter 1

The moon stood dominant over the stars in the night sky as it looked down upon a small line of head-lights move slowly up a small dirt track in the Challis National Forest. There were five vehicles in total; all white with no markings. They chicaned in between cliffs and trees, narrowly avoiding large gullies and endless drops that could easily end their lives.

They steadily made their way up into the densely wooded, more hazardous terrain higher up in the mountain range. The vehicles made their way down a steep ravine under the watchful eyes of two camouflaged snipers sitting high above the small convoy within their little concealed den. The pair watched as the vehicles trundled down the narrow road until they stopped next to a large, rugged outcrop. One of these snipers peered down his night vision scope to see one of the passengers of the lead vehicle step out. The man quickly made three hand signals before picking his radio from his ballistic vest.

"Guardian, this is patrol group Kilo-37. Request clearance for entry to 'Home Nest', over" The soldier lowered his radio and just stood there watching the rocky outcrops around the area where the snipers had made their nest.

The one of the snipers flicked through **Challis National Forest**Address:**Challis National Forest**Address:**Challis National Forest**Address:**Challis National Forest**Address:a small notepad, looking through his night vision goggles and checking the hand signals against the patrols until he was satisfied the patrol was legit. He nodded to his comrade who pressed his transceiver as his radio sparked to life.

"Patrol Kilo-37, this is Guardian. State intentions at 'Home Nest', over" The soldier startled and dropped his radio onto the gravel below. As he scrambled, the snipers chuckled at the rare humorous occasion in their dull, regimented job.

"Guardian, we have three tier-0 assets for delivery, over" At the term 'tier-0', both soldiered smiled and pounded their fists together as the one with the radio replied "Affirmative Kilo-37, you have green light to 'Home Nest'. Will radio ahead to entrance Romeo-1. Guardian out."

The soldier climbed back into the shotgun of the lead vehicle as the driver forced the accelerator pedal to the floor. The vehicle lurched forward closely followed by its companions as they sped off at a much faster pace down the ravine. It manoeuvred down the narrow road up until the tight, confined canyon opened up to a small plateau

The road the vehicles were following lead to a small collection of metal and wooden structures to the rear of the plateau surrounded by a tall metal fence lined with barbed wire at the summit. They crossed what seemed to be a much larger dust track as they approached the enclosed compound. A large sign was attached to the fence net to the gated entrance; it read 'USCF Mount Challis'. The entrance had a small wooden hut to the left where the guards usually sat, and there was a solid, metal barrier placed firmly in the centre of the road.

A guard watched with apprehension as the collection of vehicles grow closer. Grabbing his M4 carbine, he moved towards the barrier that covered the entrance. He held his hand up to signal the vehicles to stop at the checkpoint as he walked cautiously towards the lead vehicle. He pressed the button on his flashlight and shone it into the lead vehicles windscreen. The driver squinted as the sudden light and the soldier next to him muttered something under his breath and got out of the vehicle to confront the guard. He identified the 2 chevrons on his shoulder as the rank 'Corporal'.

"What is the meaning of this Corporal" he roared. The occupants in the lead vehicle smiled and leaned back in their seats; comfortable to watch the show unfold. The corporal noticed the vertical bar on an epilate on his ballistic vest; he immediately stood to attention and saluted.

"Sorry Lieutenant, but this is a restricted compound. I need to be shown clearance for access sir" His tone was slightly nervous and his voice trembled slightly. The Captain sensed this as he moved in for the kill.

"You want clearance? Follow me, NOW" The Corporal quickly followed the officer around the back of his vehicle and opened the boot. Two soldiers in similar ballistic armour to the officer sat in the back of the vehicle with their weapons shouldered and pointing at an object under a DPM basha. He grabbed the nearest corner and threw it back to reveal a large, scaly face.

It was a Dragon!

"This is a Tier Zero Asset! This is my clearance!" He screamed "And if that gate is not opened in ten seconds, I will make you clean every toilet on base with you tooth brush. Am I understood?"

The corporal was shaking in fear of the Dragon and the Lieutenant; but mainly the Lieutenant. He looked could have fallen over from shock. He then looked back at the lieutenant who was counting up to ten on his fingers. He had forgotten about the threat up until the officer reached ten. He was in for a world of hurt.

"WHY IS THIS BLOODY BARRIER STILL CLOSED CORPORAL!" He screamed in the NCO's ear. He stumbled back and tripped over a rock imbedded in the ground. He immediately scrambled to his feet and ran as fast as he could towards the barrier. He activated the mechanism and the barrier lowered into the ground to allow the convoy to enter the base. The lieutenant re-entered his vehicle and looked back at the small troop in the back seats. They were all laughing their heads off at the Lieutenants antics.

The vehicle slowly started to roll into the base, driving in between barracks, mess halls and the motor-pool until they reached the cliff face. A large metal door cut into the rock face sat in front of the column of vehicles. It was locked in tight with heavy, steel pins and heavy metal bars locked it down tight. Anything that wasn't meant to get in, or out, had no hope. The lead flashed its head lights and two orange lights lit up in the top corners of the door. A siren wined into the night as the huge bars slowly began to retract. Slowly, the large lock in the centre of door released the opposite side and the door retracted into the wall. Once there was a small gap in the centre of the large, concrete doorway, a small group of heavily armed soldiers walked out. Armed with experimental armour and weapons, they scanned the surrounding area and the skies above for any hostile forces or spy agencies, trying to get a sneak peek at secret US arms developments. Once the door was opened fully; it revealed two modified M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks behind defensive barriers of some sort of metal and the traditional sandbag. As the final vehicle drove into the tunnel, the protective soldiers re-entered the tunnel and the heavy doors closed to leave the base quiet and peaceful once again.

In the tail humvee of the convoy, a weary and bored army section watched the dull walls of the tunnel. Captain Logan Winters gazed out of the passenger door window of his vehicle and watched the regular and regimented lights that lined the tunnel pass by as his driver, Gunnery Sergeant James Webster, had his sleepy eyes fixed on the vehicle in front. Logan broke his gaze from the repetitive scenery to look back onto the rest of his small team of Rangers. Corporal Richard Heffron sat behind his seat, deep within his own world of sleep. He twitched slightly and scratched his nose before letting his hand drop lazily to his lap. On the opposite side of the vehicle was a glum looking Private Edward 'Shifty' Powers as he watched the repetitive world slowly pass by.

"You alright back their Shifty?" The sound of Logan's voice startled Ed slightly but immediately regained awareness of his surrounds.

"Huh?" he replied sleepily; it was obvious he wasn't fully with it.

"Nice of you to re-join the land of the living Ed; How are things holding back there?" He asked. Ed took in his surrounds and peered over the back of his seat into the boot of the humvee.

"Not a lot is happening at the minute sir. Doc is asleep in the boot, I have no idea how he got back there so don't ask me; Heffron is also sleeping over there and the FNG is on the " Logan averted his gaze up to the hatch where a pair of legs dangled into the vehicle.

"How's it going up there Malarkey?" Heffron said in a loud voice, but quite enough not to disturb his sleeping comrades. Malarkey's hand popped out of nowhere and clenched his gloved hand into a fist with his thumb protruding from the top. It sat there for a few moments before it unclenched and returned to its owner.

"I'll take that as an 'I'm okay thanks'" Heffron said flatly. Logan turned around and looked onto the vehicle in front. Unlike the camouflaged humvee they were in, these spec ops guys were in plain, white SUVs and their approach on things were, … different … , and that was just a understatement. They were slightly hostile to his team when they arrived and told them nothing about the mission in hand, but only to follow their final vehicle. It was bad enough getting up in the dead of the night to do a mission, but not knowing what the mission was really got to Logan. He had never accepted a mission he didn't know anything about so he didn't put his men and friends unnecessarily in harm's way.

"What do you think of all this secrecy of this facility Sir?" James asked to gain the Lieutenants attention. Winters looked over to the weary driver and just shook his head. "Come on Logan, we've been here for 7 months now and I believe this our first time past those doors back there."

Logan rested his heavy head in his palms and sighed "I have no idea, but I defiantly don't like this place. I have that feeling that something big is going to kick off and we might be in the middle of it"

"Well we'll get out of here as soon as we can" he said confidently "Looks like we're near the end of this tunnel. Hey Shifty, wake up the other two back there"

"Roger that Gunny" Logan peered into the rear view mirror as he watched Ed raise the barrel of his M16 and start poking the sleeping Heffron in the arm as he slowly started to poke higher and high up his body until he was poking his face at a rapid pace. Heffron suddenly jerked into life as he tried to stand up, only to have his head collide with the roof of the humvee; fortunately his helmet took the brunt of the damage.

"Ouch" was the only words to escape his lips as he settled down into his seat and removed his helmet; inspecting the damage he had caused to his equipment. Heffron then turned his attention to Doc.

As his name suggests, Private First-Class George 'Doc' Moore served as the combat medic to the group and the main peacekeeper between the members when the soldiers started to get edgy and aggressive at one another. Shifty went around the business of waking him up in the same way he had done with Heffron; using his M16 as a poking stick.

Unfortunately for Shifty, Doc was awoken by the first few pokes and his sleepy face could now be seen over the top of the seats.

"Ugh, what did I miss?" he asked while rubbing the back of his head and taking in his surroundings.

"Not a lot" Heffron said cheerfully "it seems were about to enter the main complex, so you're up in time"

The humvee slowed down considerable as Webster hit the brakes. Logan rolled down his window and stuck his head to see the column was passing through another checkpoint. Soldiers wearing the same type of armor as the soldiers back up at the main gate stood behind some sort of bunker armed with what seemed to be a heavy machine-gun, but it looked different that Logan and his team were issued. Once the team of Rangers reached the checkpoint, these new soldiers regarded them as raw recruits, hostile glares and a sense of superiority emanating from the guards.

"I bet if we had the same kit, we would kick their ass from here to Mexico" growled Webster "Just because they have the fancy guns and cloths they think their better than us" He continued to mutter and curse under his breath as the team drove past some sort of buildings that had been built into the rock with random armoured vehicles and white SUV's dotted around.

"It is like a whole new base down here" Doc exclaimed "Why don't we get this new stuff?" Logan was about to answer when the vehicle broke out of the confined tunnel into a large, open space which was bathed in moon light of the night. It took a few moments for the Rangers' eyes to adjust to the new lit location, but when they did, they were amazed at the sight.

Before them was what seemed to be a very large cavern, big enough to fit the surrounding base they were used to multiple times over. At the peak of the cavern, protective energy fields covered what few holes existed in the solid rock. The energy started to rupture slightly until a CV-22 Osprey screamed through the energy in a near vertical decent. The VTOL aircraft slowed down significantly as it tilted its rotors until it started to hover above the ground. It slowly descended towards the tarmac as small hatches opened and its landing gear quickly deployed. The aircraft touched down within a yellow circle painted on the floor with a large, yellow 'H' in the centre. The engines then tilted forward and the Osprey taxied towards a line of brightly lit hangers carved into the wall where numerous CV-22 Ospreys and AH-64U Apache Longbows sat lifeless as the odd mechanics went about their business with tools in hand.

Logan once again looked skyward to see what seemed to be a control tower that stretched all around the oval shaped cavern with various activities going on through each of the different windows. Numerous platforms and buildings accompanied the control 'ring' to make the entire 'hanger' look like something out of Star Wars or Halo.

"Doesn't this look awesome?" exclaimed Doc

"Yeah" replied Malarkey. All eyes on the vehicle with the exception on Webster turned on the FNG who only just shrugged and continued to survey the cavern.

"Well there is another word we can add to his vocabulary" chucked Shifty as he took out a small notepad with a scruffy writing that read 'Malarkey's Dictionary' and a pen from a pouch on his ballistic vest and wrote the word down somewhere inside before stowing it away and turning his attention back to the surrounding surroundings, but by now, the team had left the cavern and were now heading down a different tunnel.

The line of vehicles continued to drive for another 5 minutes until the lead vehicle drove down into another side tunnel which had a large, hand painted sign which read "4th Tactical Response Unit".

As the humvee was about to turn down the tunnel, a guard wearing a white helmet and armband with the letters 'MP' written on walked out into the road signalling them to stop. He motion towards another one of these men and Webster realigned the steering wheel and drove towards the parking space alongside the next soldier.

"Sorry Sir" The military policeman stated "We've been ordered to hold you here until the rest of our guys complete their mission; then they will be able to escort you back to the blast doors. You are not to move until they get here. Am I understood?"

"Crystal clear Sergeant; we'll hold at our current position" Logan said in a dull, hard voice. The policeman saluted and carried on towards his counterpart. "Dick!" he muttered causing slight amusement from his weary team as they began to small talk to pass the time. His thoughts then turned to the actual mission, what was it all about? He pondered through his memories of the mission trying to make sense of, well, anything. He knew where his answers were, down that tunnel, but he couldn't get there. What were they doing down there?

The small convoy, minus the humvee, slowed to a halt in some kind of motor-pool before the entire task-force dismounted. They quickly grabbed their precious cargo and threw them hastily onto carts before dragging them down a corridor leading away from the vehicles. They followed a series of signs until they reached what served as a detainment centre. A line of four cells sat on the left side of the bleak corridor, giving a rustic look to the otherwise advanced facility. One by one; they opened up a door and threw one dragon inside until each one was in a different confinement cell. Locking the doors behind them, the soldiers quickly retreated back down the hallways for some much earned rest. They had done their job; whatever happened to their catch next was not their problem

A couple of hours later, one of dragons' eyes slowly cracked open to see a dark and gloomy room. The only light came from a small window in the door, casting dark shadows across the room. Fighting the pounding in its head, it sat up and slowly took in its surroundings, desperately trying to make sense of anything.

"Where am I?"


	3. Chapter 2

Runners Chapter 2

Rorick cradled his head as he forced his way onto his stomach. It felt as if someone was trying to force a wedge into his skull. Forcing his eyes open, he was assaulted by a blur of incomprehensible dark shapes in font of him, forcing him to squeeze his eyes shut.

Waiting a few moments, Rorick allowed a wave of nausea to pass over him before carefully opening his eyes again. His eyes painfully adjusted to the dark shapes in front of him, but he began to get a view of his surroundings.

He was in what seemed to be a solid metal cell. Seamless sheets of some kind of metal made up three of the walls, the ceiling, and the floor. The forth wall had what looked to be a door of some kind with a translucent material forming a small window in the top.

The small window provided the only light in the room, giving a dull gray appearance to everything in the room. Rorick gave a huff as he turned his head to look around the room. It wasn't like there was much to look at anyway. The only other object in the room was a bucket in the corner, probably containing water.

He had no idea where he was, how he got there, or what was going on, but he knew one thing. He was in a prison, and he had no intention of sticking around to find out who had put him there.

Still fighting the pounding in his head, Rorick stood shakily to his feet. After assuring himself that he wouldn't fall over, he made his way over to the apparent door in the wall. Rorick moved and pressed himself against the wall with the window, craning his neck so someone outside might not see him looking out the window.

The hallway outside was barely lit by some source of light coming from the ceiling, casting long shadows down the hallway. A lone figure walked back and forth down the hallway. Buy the timing of his passing, Rorick figured there could only be two or three other cells on his side of the hallway. Rorick couldn't quite make out what kind of creature was under the heavy clothing and equipment the creature carried. Cells lined the other side of the hallway as well. He could see small windows similar to the one he was looking through. Small panels sat next to the door handles, and the hinges were on the outside of the doors.

Running a hand along the seam of the door to his cell, Rorick confirmed his fears. It would be difficult to get out.

Difficult, but not impossible.

Pulling his head back from the window, Rorick examined his body to see what state he was in. Nothing seemed to be broken, but his head still pounded with a massive headache. He could probably still run, but he wouldn't be able to push his body much past that.

Looking back to the door, Rorick considered his options. He could wait until someone came to see him and try to spring himself out then, but they would be expecting as much. His only other option would be to try and break out now. The loner he stayed here, the weaker he would become. He didn't really have a choice.

Walking into the center of the room, Rorick faced the door and dug into what energy he still had left. The next few minutes were going to be fast.

Spreading his legs to anchor himself, Rorick let his elemental energy gather inside his mouth. Once he had gathered enough energy, he released a strong blast of energy at the door.

The room reverberated with a sharp bang accompanied by the sound of metal twisting and warping as his attack slammed into the metal door. As the dust cleared, Rorick could see that the door was still standing. The entire center section of the door warped out from the impact zone, breaking off the hinges from the lower part of the door as it bowed out. He could hear the guard outside shout as he readied himself to hit the door again. There was no turning back now. If he didn't make it out now, he wouldn't get a chance like this again.

Rorick loosed another attack at the door, this time smiling in satisfaction as he heard the door rip form its hinges and get thrown across the hall.

Sprinting out into the hallway, Rorick looked for the guard he knew would be just outside the door only to found him underneath the door he had just blown from its hinges, unconscious.

He almost felt sorry for the creature. It must have unwittingly been standing behind the door when he had blown it open. Still, he hadn't killed it; he could see the rising and falling of its chest from underneath the heavy door. It would just be in a large amount of pain when it woke up.

Looking up from the creature, Rorick examined his surroundings quickly. Somehow, no one else seemed to have noticed his escape, so he had a little bit of time to think things through. The hallway was much like he expected it to be. Four cells lined each side of the hallway, making eight in total. Small doors were on both sides of the hallway surrounded by highly polished mirrors. Other than that, the hallway retained much of the bleak appearance as his cell. Curious, Rorick walked towards the cell next to his own. No one seemed to have sounded an alarm yet, and he wanted to see if anyone else had been trapped like he had.

As Rorick walked up to the first cell door, he caught his own reflection in the mirror down the hallway. His normally deep green scales were shaded to almost black due to dirt covering his scales. His lighter colored green chest scales were covered with scratch marks and dirt as well. His deep brown eyes stared back at him as he looked at his own dirt-covered face. His two thick, rustic brown horns curved smoothly down the back of his head, completing the picture. His tail stayed raised behind him, his thick arrowhead shaped tail spade twitching back and forth in anticipation. He looked very much like the earth dragon he knew himself to be. The extra dirt only enhanced the perception.

As he looked in the mirror, a bright orange object on his back angle caught his attention. Turning his head to look at his feet, Rorick found a small anklet he hadn't noticed before. Snarling at the inconvenience, Rorick turned his tail and angled it so his tail blade pointed down at the top of the device. Bringing it down quickly, Rorick dug his blade into the brace around his ankle, shattering a section of the material into pieces and allowing it to slide off his ankle.

Satisfied, Rorick cautiously approached the next cell door. He still didn't know what else might be lurking in the cells, and he didn't want to make himself known to anything that might be unfriendly.

Carefully looking through the window of the first cell, Rorick tried to make out the contents of the room. The dim lighting of the hallway cloaked a figure sitting in the corner of the room in shadow, but it provided enough light that Rorick could make out some basic features. It was undeniably another dragon.

Rorick's mind flashed back to his time spent running underground. He had met two other dragons there briefly, and common sense told him that they probably ended up in the same place he did. At this point in time, he wanted all the friends he could get.

Pounding on the window, Rorick tried to get the attention of dragon inside.

Slowly, the dragon inside lifted his head. Rorick could see it was as disoriented as he was, as the dragon looked hesitantly around the room, shaking its head occasionally as if disorientated.

Pounding on the small window again, Rorick caught the attention of the dragon in room. Turning its head, the dragon focused onto Rorick and walked into the dim light provided by the window. Yellow scales covered the face of the dragon that stared back at Rorick in a mix of confusion and relief. Rorick remembered him as the male dragon he had briefly met running through the caves.

As they looked at each other, Rorick felt an understanding of their situation pass between them. Whether they liked it or not, they were going to be in this together.

Stepping back from the door, Rorick looked for any way he could open the door. He couldn't open this door the same way he had opened his own in fear that he may injure the dragon inside. From the outside, Rorick could see a keypad next to a simple metal handle attached to the door. Pulling on the handle, Rorick found it unsurprisingly locked. He guessed they keypad somehow controlled the lock on the door, but without any idea how it worked, it might as well have been a stone wall.

Looking over the rest of the door, Rorick found it was otherwise the same on the outside as his was on the inside: a cold, unforgiving piece of metal with no place he could find purchase to create leverage. Even the hinges on the door must have been internal, as he couldn't see any trace of them on the outside.

Letting out an aggravated sigh, Rorick rested his head against the door. He didn't want to, but he was going to have to remove the door by himself… forcefully.

Looking back through the window, Rorick caught the attention of the dragon inside. "Move out of the way!"

The dragon's expression changed to one of confusion. Rorick saw his mouth move, but he couldn't hear anything through the thick metal door.

Rorick jerked his head to the side, hoping the dragon would figure out his intent. Backing away from the door, Rorick prepared himself to break down the door. Letting his elemental energy charge in his mouth, Rorick released in the direction of the metal door, smiling in satisfaction as he heard the door screech as it ripped from the hinges on the first impact.

Fanning his wings, Rorick pushed the dirt and debris in the air to the back of the cells, revealing the dragon in the cell

Deep yellow scales covered the majority of his body, although dirt and grime muddled them to a dull brown. A dark blue covered his chest and stomach while the membranes in his wings sported a similar color. He stood slightly taller than Rorick with his head raised, and his face held a determined look as he stepped out into the hallway. Two ivory jagged horns swept off the top of his head in a jagged z-shape while two smaller horns curved up out of the back of his jaw. His tail ended in a sharp arrowhead, the tail blade extending a few inches off the end of his tail.

"Thanks, uh..."

"Rorick." Rorick finished his sentence for him "it's Krayt right?"

"Yeah. Our introductions were a little hasty last time, though I can't say now is the time for introductions either.

"You're not hurt, are you?" Rorick looked at where the metal door had impacted against the far wall of the cell.

"No, I'm fine"

"Good" Rorick let his head droop back toward the ground as he tried to catch his breath.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired." Rorick stood to his full height, turning towards one of the exits. "Come on, we need to get out of here…. Wherever here is."

"Wait!" Krayt's call stopped Rorick as he walked down the hallway. "We have to find Aurora!"

"Who?"

"My sister. She has to be around here somewhere."

"Your sister?" Rorick wasn't surprised that the third dragon had ended up in the same place he did, but he had thought that Krayt and Aurora had a different relationship when he met them underground.

"Here!" Krayt called to Rorick from the cell across the hall. His head was pressed up against the window and he looked like he would attempt to tear the door down himself. Pounding on the window, Krayt tried to get his sisters attention. "She's not waking up!"

"Here, I'll get the door." Rorick turned around and positioned himself to blow down Aurora's door

"Wait, you might hit her." Krayt anxiously placed himself in front of the door.

Rorick let out an irritated growl. "Look, unless you have a better way of getting through a solid metal door, get out of the way. We are running out of time."

Hesitantly, Krayt moved out of the way, taking a look out position just beside the door.

As soon as he was out of the way, Rorick lifted his tired head and focused on the door. He was already way past his breaking point, but stopping now would make all of his work worthless.

Bracing himself against the ground, Rorick focused what energy he had left and shot it against the hard metal door. Once again, the door buckled against the power of his shot, yet it stayed firmly attached to the wall. Grunting, Rorick threw another blast against the door.

The door still stood after the second attack, but Rorick could see the fractures appearing in the door.

Rorick took a moment to collect himself, his chest heaving as his head dropped lower to the ground. Out of the corner of his vision, he could see Krayt giving him a concerned glance. He had never pushed himself this far before… and he knew he was going to have to go farther.

After another moments rest, Rorick forced himself to focus back on the door in front of him. Focusing what he had left in his reserves, Rorick forced it out of his maw and into the door.

Although he it held only a fraction of the energy of his previous attacks, it proved to be enough to finally dislodge the door from the wall.

The metal door clattered to the ground just inside the door, the sound reverberating out into the hallway.

As the dust settled and the sounds of metal faded away, sounds of conversation drifted through the hallways into the cellblock Rorick and Krayt were in, and they were getting closer.

A look of concern passed between Krayt and Rorick. They had run out of time.

"I'll take care of whatever's coming, you get Aurora." Krayt kept his voice low as he moved across the hall.

"Alright," Rorick moved into quickly in to the cell while Krayt moved to hide just behind the doorway they could hear the guards coming through. They seemed to be moving slowly down the hall.

Aurora was still lying in the corner of the cell as Rorick moved into the room. The door had thankfully landed on the opposite side of the room, and Rorick could see her chest rise with the steady rhythm of her breathing. The light from the hallway gave him his first good look at the dragoness.

The majority of her body was a vibrant crimson, although it was covered in dirt and grime like Krayt and Rorick. A deep blue covered her chest and stomach as well as coloring her wings, much like her brother. As Rorick approached her head, he could see three smooth ivory horns sweep back over her head in a triangular fashion. Her tail ended in a thin teardrop shape, the rounded edge closest to her tail sharpening to a point as it moved away from her body.

Reaching down, Rorick gently shook her shoulder, hoping her could wake her up before more guards stumbled into their hallway. "Aurora… hey! Wake up. Come on, we need to get out of here."

Aurora didn't move as Rorick prodded her, causing him to let out an irritated growl. "Come on, we need to get out of here." Frustrated, Rorick prodded her harder in the side. If she didn't wake up soon, he would have to carry her out.

"Come on, why won't you wake up?" Rorick glanced out towards the hallway. The creatures walking down the hall would no doubt be coming into their area soon. The silence coming from the hallway told him his assumptions were true. The thought of going to help Krayt crossed his mind, but Aurora's cell was far enough away from the door that he wouldn't be of any use. He would have to trust Krayt to take care of them for now.

Slowly, Rorick heard voices drift into the room.

"I'm telling you, I don't understand why we have to do this. Half of the shift doesn't even go out on their designated patrols. And I can't say I blame them."

"Yeah well…" Rorick heard the voices stop. "Hey wait… what happened here?"

Heavy footsteps entered the room, and Rorick could hear chunks of rock and metal grinding beneath their feet.

"What the… Quick, call this in, I don't know what… but something happened here."

"Wait a second, is that Jim?" Rorick heard frantic shuffling and small objects being thrown across the room. "Jim… Jim! Thank god you're alright"

"Is he ok?"

"Yeah, he's still alive… but he's going to be in a lot of pain after this."

"Alright, I'm calling this in. I don't know what's going on, but…" Rorick heard the creatures voice stop suddenly, accompanied by a large thump from the hallway. Rorick could only guess at what was happening.

"Hey, what…" The voices from the hallway stopped again, but this time, a series of unnaturally loud pops came from the hall. Rorick reactively stepped overtop of Aurora's unconscious form. If whatever Krayt was fighting got past him, it wouldn't be too friendly towards Aurora or himself.

Muffled grunts and an angry roar from Krayt resounded in the small cell as Rorick tensed his body. But as quickly as the sounds had come, they drifted off into silence.

Rorick still stood slightly crouched over Aurora's body. The only sounds in the small cell were the sounds of her breathing.

"Hey, are you two alright in there?" Krayt's voice from down the hall allowed Rorick to let out a sigh of relief.

Rorick called back into the hall "yeah, we're ok. What about you?"

"A few nicks and bruises, but I'm ok. We need to get out of here though. People are going to notice this."

Rorick leaned down and nudged Aurora again, trying desperately to wake her up. They stood more of a chance if they didn't have to carry anyone as they tried to escape. And Rorick knew there was no way Krayt would leave her behind.

Thankfully, Aurora stirred as Rorick continued to nudge her.

Slowly opening her eyes, Aurora was startled by the sight of an unfamiliar dragon standing over her. Jerking her body, she rolled onto her back and tired to kick him off. "Get off me!"

Rorick jumped off of the thrashing dragoness. "Hey! Hey! Hey! It's alright. I'm here to help you, but you have to keep your voice down." Rorick moved back to Aurora and helped her to stand to her feet, regardless of the stare he was getting. "Your brother's just outside. Come on, we need to get out of here fast."

Rorick walked out into the hallway with Aurora, her form supporting him as much as he was supporting her.

"Aurora!" As soon as they had walked out of the cell door, Krayt ran over to his sister, taking her weight off of Rorick's shoulders. It gave Rorick a better chance to look at what had happened.

Aside from the rubble present from his attempts at opening the door, two more bodies laid splayed across the floor near the entrance. Like the fist guard, he could see their chest rising to signal that they were still alive. Looking over at Krayt, Rorick couldn't find any major injuries. A small cut ran along his forehead, but it seemed to Rorick that it would be more of an annoyance than an injury. But what confused him the most were four small circular holes torn out of the membranes on his wings.

"Krayt, what happened to your wings?"

Krayt turned from Aurora and gave him a worried look. "I don't know exactly. That thing did something with the weapon it was carrying, and I felt something tear through my wings at about the same time. I don't know what kind of weaponry these things use, but they are definitely dangerous."

Aurora spoke up. "I think the rest of this discussion can wait until later, right now I just want to get out of this place and get home."

Krayt started moving toward the door. "Let's just get out of here before we start thinking about home. I have a felling it won't be simple."

Rorick stopped them before the left the room. "One more thing, you might want to take those things of your back ankles. I don't know what they are, but they can't be good."

Krayt nodded, looking back at his ankle before slicing though the thick material with his tail. Aurora mimicked his actions.

"Alright, let's go." Krayt led the group as they walked out of the cellblock and down the hallway. They quickly passed row after row of empty cellblocks, Krayt leading them down a large center hallway. Rorick couldn't help but wonder what necessitated so many cells, even though they were all empty.

Their attempts at stealth were minimal as the moved down the halls. They would be found out as soon as the next patrol found the rooms they had broken out of. However, they still attempted to move quietly to slip past any patrol they may encounter on their way out. Thankfully, they didn't run into any.

Reaching an intersection of major hallways, Krayt skidded to a stop in the front of the group.

"Where next?" Aurora asked as she stopped next to him.

"There! Krayt pointed at a doorway down the hallway to their left. A considerably larger door stood open at the end of the hallway. With any luck, it would be their way out.

Turning, Krayt took off towards the door. Aurora and Rorick were close on his heels as they reached down the hallways.

Up ahead of him, Rorick saw Krayt stop short at what seemed to be the exit to the building they were in. "What? What is it?" Rorick walked up behind Krayt, looking over his shoulder. He let out a small gasp at what he saw.

Spread out in front of them was a large open expanse inside what seemed like a mountain. A large road ran around the outskirts of the cavern, connecting multiple buildings and tunnels and building while surrounding a large open expanse in the center. Large metal buildings housed some machines out in the center of the cavern, while others sat out in neat rows on the flat cavern floor.

But the most impressive part of the cavern was the sheer size and complexity of the dome. It easily towered over a hundred feet in height and various tunnels and caverns jutted out from various sections on the ceiling. As he was looking, Rorick saw a large metal machine pass into the large cavern from one of the passages on the ceiling of the cave.

"There!" Rorick pointed up towards an opening in the room of the cave where the large machine had just flown through. "It looks like we can use those tunnels to get out."

"Are you sure? It looks like there's something blocking it."

"That machine seemed to go through it just fine, and if you have any better ideas I'd be glad to try those first.

Krayt spoke up from behind them. "We need to move. This place is going to stir up like a hornet's nest, and they're all going to be looking for us. Right now it looks like those tunnels up there and running through the hallways are our only options. If they don't work… well… we'll probably die."

Rorick turned to Krayt "are you always this cheery?"

"Only when I'm running for my life."

Aurora turned to look at the passages in the ceiling. "I don't know. That's a lot of open space to cover, and we have seen what kind of weapons these things carry. We won't stand a chance of getting to one of the openings if we're found."

"She's got a point" Krayt turned to Rorick. "So what now, we take a chance running through more hallways?"

Rorick sighed "I don't think we have much of a choice. We're obviously still underground, so our best bet would be to go out from where we started and to go up whenever possible."

"So which way do we start to go then? There are at least fifteen different entrances into this cavern." Aurora asked as her head swiveled around the cavern, here eyes resting on each of the multitude of entrances into the cavern.

"There." Rorick pointed to a rather large entrance across the cavern from their location. "That looks like the main entrance into this room, which means it's our best chance of getting out."

"Alright, so now that we know where we're going, how do we plan on getting there?" Krayt looked over the distance between where they were, and where they wanted to go. The cavern wall bordered the elevated road that ran from where they were to the exit on the other side, leaving them no possible hiding points along that side. On the other side of the road, there wasn't a building on the tarmac for a good hundred meters, and even then, it was probably filled with people they didn't want to meet. "There isn't anywhere we could hide, and I doubt we will be able to escape if we're seen this early.

"Well, if we can't go over…" Rorick looked over at a metal chain link fence bordering the road on one section of the wall. Behind the fence, the rock wall seemed to bow out and divot, giving access to the infrastructure underneath the road. "Then I suppose we'll have to go under."

Both Krayt and Aurora looked displeased with his plan and his comments.

Using his talons, Krayt began cutting through the metal fence, each link requiring a few tugs before it would finally give way. Rorick and Aurora watched the hallways nervously as he worked, checking for anyone who might have discovered them.

"Alright, let's go." Rorick pulled apart the metal fence and motioned for Krayt and Aurora to move through. Aurora moved through with ease, followed by Krayt as he looked over his shoulder. After he was sure the other dragons were clear, Rorick squeezed through the fence and dropped down onto the stone ground underneath the roadway.

Where the topside of the roadway had been lighted thoroughly, the underside of the roadway was shrouded in almost complete blackness. As their eyes adjusted to the light, Rorick could see various support beams jutting from the rocky floor to hold up the road above them. Other than that, they were alone under the road, completely hidden from everything outside of the dark passage.

Krayt took the lead, "alright, looks like this will work. Let's go."

The three dragons quickly made their way across the rocky terrain, picking and weaving through the uneven rocks and boulders found underneath the road. The sounds of heavy machinery droned on above them as they headed towards what they assumed to be an exit. Rorick could feel a slight incline as they walked, but he wasn't going to get his hopes up yet.

Aurora broke the silence of the group. "Do you think they've figured out we're gone yet?

"I don't know. It doesn't sound like they've noticed yet, but I don't know how long it will last." Rorick moved so he was walking beside Aurora. Krayt moved up next to them as well.

"You're right. We need to keep moving. There's no telling how long our luck will last." Krayt urged them to move faster through the passage.

After a few minutes of moving quickly, the group reached a solid wall of stone impeding their passage.

Rorick looked up at the stone wall. "Looks like we aren't getting any farther this way. We'll have to go back on top."

"Yeah, but how?" Krayt looked at the surroundings, they had made it to the end of the road unnoticed, but making out of the complex would be difficult.

"Over here!" Aurora called out from one side of the road, thin rays of light streamed through a small gap in the rock. It was similar to the crevice they used to get below the road. "This looks large enough for us to slip through."

Rorick and Krayt moved over to where Aurora was. "Maybe, but there's definitely not enough room to fly though, and there's nothing to help us up there. We'll have to help each other up. Rorick, will you give me a hand?"

Using what power he had left, Rorick pushed one of his claws deep into the ground. In response, a small shelf jutted from the ground underneath the opening. "Sorry, but I can't manage anything more than that."

Krayt nodded before stepping up on the small ledge. From the ledge, he jumped up to the top of the road above, his wings scraping along the wall even through they were tucked against his body

Catching the ledge with his front claws, Krayt scrambled up onto the floor above, his back feet kicking loose rock and gravel below.

Rorick and Aurora waited for a few tense moments before Krayt's head dropped down from above.

"It looks like we got lucky; this comes out just behind a building. There's another fence blocking our way out, but the major passage we saw earlier is just around the corner. No one seems to have noticed us yet, but there are a few guards nearby, so be quiet when you come up."

Aurora and Rorick both nodded before Krayt disappeared above again. Rorick gestured for Aurora to go before him. "Let's get out of here."

Aurora moved onto the platform, quickly jumping up to the next level much like her brother. Rorick was once again pelted with debris as she scrambled up. Moving onto the platform he created, Rorick jumped up soon after her, his wings scraping against the stone wall behind him.

After he had scrambled onto the ledge, Rorick joined Krayt and Aurora as they peered out from behind a building.

To their left, three more guards stood lackadaisically at a checkpoint on the road, their backs to the groups of dragons. Rorick guessed they were to catch anything that entered or left the compound and almost laughed to himself. The roadway disappeared into a large tunnel directly to their right. They had come out closer to their destination than Rorick could have hoped; the only problem now would be getting into the tunnel without the guards noticing

Krayt "Alright, it looks like there's a small access hallway just inside the entrance of the tunnel. I would bet that if we can get to that, we should be able to get up the road unnoticed."

Aurora looked over at him. "Sounds good, but how are we going to get past those guys?"

Silence passed over the group.

Approaching footsteps forced the group to press themselves back against the wall. After a few moments, a guard walked past tier position and headed towards the checkpoint to their left. Much to Rorick's displeasure, the guard joined the others at the post, making a fourth object they needed to get past.

"It doesn't look like they're going to be leaving any time soon, and our time is running out." Rorick looked at Krayt and Aurora with a worried expression on his face. "Somebody is going to notice that we're gone soon, so we have to do something fast. At the same time, those guards aren't going to leave any time soon, and we have to bust through the fence to get out of here, which will make plenty of noise…" As looked over at Krayt as he trailed off, who nodded in response.

Aurora picked up on the reality of the situation as well. "We're going to have to run for it aren't we?"

Krayt nodded

"Should we try to take them out?"

"No, they'll notice us before we get close enough." Krayt shook his head. "Alright, here's what we'll do. I'll break through the fence. Aurora, you and Rorick head straight for the tunnel, I'll be right behind you. Once we get in the tunnel, try and head up. Keep running and don't stop. As soon as we go through that fence, they're going to know where we are." Krayt paused a second and looked at the other two dragons. "Got it?"

"Yeah." Both dragons nodded.

"Here goes nothing then. Let's hope this works." Krayt backed up a few steps, distancing himself from the fence. "Ready?"

Rorick nodded and set his jaw while Aurora shivered slightly before nodding as well. Up to this point they had been lucky enough that no one noticed the absence. That had given them the ability to stealthily move around the compound. What they were about to do would throw it all away, and there was no telling how hard their captors would come down on them.

Without another word, Krayt charged at the fence. Lowering his head, he threw his entire body into the charge as he impacted the fence. The fence shrieked in protest before the section ripped completely from its mounts, clattering to the asphalt with Kryat not too far behind.

Krayt hit the ground awkwardly from the shift in momentum but skillfully rolled back to his feet. Once he rolled to his feet, he found himself starring at the guards in the checkpoint.

Each guard stood staring at him with shocked expressions on their faces, unable to comprehend how a mythical creature had crashed through a fence and into their checkpoint.

As they continued their staring contest, Krayt could hear Aurora and Rorick slip out of their hiding spot and race toward the passage entrance.

One of the guards noticed the second and third creature running through his checkpoint and sapped himself out of his stupor. Raising his rifle to his shoulder, he aimed down the sights at the two running figures.

"Hey, you! Stop!"

Forcing himself to move again, Kyrat turned and ran toward the access hallway. He could feel the attention of the guards' shift as he moved again, and the sharp retorts of their rifles soon chased him down the road as well.

Ahead of him, he could see Aurora and Rorick disappear into the access hallway, but as he approached the entrance, a vehicle rumbled down the road in front of him.

Its headlights passed over Krayt's body just as he slipped into the side passage. Krayt strained his ears to hear what was going on as he raced up the passage after Rorick and Aurora.

A loud squeal came from out in the passage. "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know, but it's not supposed to be here."

Krayt cursed silently to himself as they ran further away from where the guards had been standing. It would only be moments now before the whole base knew what was going on.

Sure enough, after turning the next corner, the group's ears were assaulted by wailing sirens resounding throughout the hallways.

Rorick could hear shouts filling the hall behind him as he led the trio up the access hallway. The hallway was lined with pipes, wires, and different access hallways back into the main road outside, but he wasn't interested in them. He could feel the floor beneath them gradually sloping upward, pointing them once again toward the surface.

Focusing ahead once again, Rorick saw a large set of stairs at the end of the hallway. Pushing himself harder, Rorick hit the steps without missing a beat, taking them three or four at a time as he raced toward the surface. Looking up, he could see a metal door covering the exit to the stairs, and as he reached the top steps, he jumped full force into the door hoping to knock it down.

Instead, Rorick felt his body come into contact with a hard metal bar, yet as he impacted the door, it swung out violently and threw him to the ground outside.

Ignoring the pain in his body, Rorick quickly scrambled to his feet, looking for his next destination.

"What are those?" Rorick almost stopped short at the sight of two imposing machines guarding a set of large open metal doors. He could only guess that they served to protect the exit to the compound. He could see the night sky through the closing gap in the doors; all they needed to do now was make it though those doors before they closed. Aurora and Krayt's footsteps behind him spurred him to action at both of the machines swiveled a large metal barrel to train on him. He didn't like where this was going. Aurora and Kraut quickly passed him up as they moved towards the large metal doors. The only thing that seemed to be in their way now were the machines and a few guards.

A flash came from one of the machines along the wall, and Rorick found himself flying through the air not of his own accord. Hitting the ground hard, Rorick bounced on his side before rolling to a stop; he faintly recognized the feeling of another body impacting his own. Rolling onto his stomach, Rorick became faintly aware of an intense ringing in his head as he struggled back to his feet. If he stopped now, it would have all been for nothing, and they were so close to getting out. Turning his head, Rorick saw that it was Aurora that had fallen against his side and quickly helped her up. Krayt somehow appeared next to Rorick and began pushing him foreword again. Unable to respond, Rorick stumbled along as Krayt pushed them behind a building.

His head still ringing, Rorick looked up at Krayt's face. He could see him trying to talk, but no words seemed to come out of his mouth. Slowly, the ringing in his head subsided and Krayt's voice became louder.

"…Rorick …Rorick. We need to take those things out. Do you think you can manage it?"

Rorick checked over his shoulder as he focused his mind, the guards behind them would catch up soon. His gaze briefly crossed a small crater in the ground, its edges blacked with scorch marks. Shock crossed his features as he realized what had thrown him across the room. "Yeah, I think I can manage."

"Good. We'll make a break for it then. Just try and knock those things off balance long enough for us to get outside. Once we're there, take to the sky. They don't seem like they'll be able to follow us then. Just don't get hit by whatever those things are. Whatever it shot landed a good distance away from you, and you still got thrown by the explosion. I don't want to think about what would happen if it actually hits you"

Rorick nodded again, as the ringing in his ears quieted more. He could faintly hear the sounds of their captors as they rallied around the doors, no doubt in and attempt to keep them from escaping. The drone of the large metal doors closing and the wailing sirens had become a faint distraction, and he could hear large amounts of noise coming up the passage they had just come from. They would be trapped in moments if they didn't move quickly

Nodding to Krayt and Aurora, Rorick ran out from behind the building into the center of the large chamber. He could see the guards and both machined train the barrels of their weapons on him as ran toward them. The doors behind them were now three-quarters of the way shut, giving them only a few moments until they would be shut completely. Rorick knew they wouldn't be able to open them if they closed.

He could faintly hear the guards in front of him yelling for him to stop or they would shoot and almost laughed. They were too far into this to stop now.

Jumping into the air slightly, Rorick landed with both of his forefeet planted firmly against the ground, channeling what elemental energy he had left into the ground.

Rorick had a moment to look up as his energy traveled through the ground beneath his feet. The guards all stood at the ready, most of them with curiosity and suspicion on their faces, wondering if the creature in front of them was real and if it had really listened to their commands. Both machines stood silently, their large barrels trained on his location. It was almost completely silent for a moment, and one of the guards took the opportunity to take a hesitant step towards Rorick. As the guard was moving, Rorick felt his energy reach its intended target.

Chaos erupted again as two large stalagmites jutted up from the ground underneath both of the tanks, ripping through metal and lifting the tanks into the air as they jutted from the ground.

The guards' heads turned towards the scene of destruction as the tanks were tipped to the side and other wise decommissioned, giving Rorick a small chance to move again.

Struggling to force his body to move after his exertion, Rorick only managed to take a step before crumpling to the ground again. Rorick watched as the attention of the guards slowly turned back onto him, this time with no will to give any quarter.

As they shouldered their weapons again, Rorick felt a small gust of wind as a red and blue streak jumped overtop of him.

Aurora released a small torrent of fire at the few guards blocking their exit. Most jumped out of the way of the flames, but a few did not move quick enough and had to stop to swat small fires from their clothing. As she did, Kryat helped Rorick to his feet.

Aurora shot small jets of flame at the remaining guards as their group ran toward the exit once again. The door was almost shut, but they would make it through easily if they kept moving. Forcing his body to move yet again, Rorick lifted his weight off of Krayt and ran for the exit. Behind them, Aurora released one final long stream of fire before turning tail and chasing them out.

"Alright, now were getting somewhere!" Rorick felt more adrenaline pump through his veins as he saw the dark night sky. Spreading his wings, he wasted no time in launching himself off the ground and disappearing into the darkness. Aurora and Krayt quickly followed him, their bodies' quickly soaring high into the sky.

Underneath them, alarms still rang out throughout the facility.

Behind them inside the facility, one modified AH-64 Apache sat finishing its final preparations on its launch pad. Inside, the gunner, code-named Phoenix one, finished arming and calibrating his weapons systems with a small amount of anxiety. He and his pilot had been roused from their slumber by the alarms, and they were now prepping live ordnance on their bird, something unusual even for this facility.

Behind him, his pilot spoke into his radio. "Citadel, this is Phoenix one, pre flight preparations are complete and we are ready for takeoff."

His radio sounded back into his ear. "Roger that Phoenix one, this is citadel, you are cleared for takeoff. Proceed to the northern passage and set a bearing of 033. Briefing will be given to you as you exit the hanger."

"Roger that Citadel. Phoenix one, taking off." The gunner barely felt his bird move as his pilot expertly took off and set a bearing for the northern exit to the hanger. Any rookie pilot would have shied away from the small passage they had to navigate through to exit the hanger within the mountain, but he had made the passage hundreds of times, and he knew his pilot was as skilled as he was.

Passing through a solid electrical barrier, the tunnel surrounding the apache became considerably narrower. As they navigated through the tight passage, the gunner heard his radio come to life once again

"Phoenix one, this is Citadel. Your mission is as follows: three tier-zero assets have escaped the compound and are now headed away from the compound with a last known heading of 019. Your orders are to make contact with these assets. From there you are ordered to attempt to force them back towards the compound for capture, if that cannot be accomplished, you are to terminate them. Do you read? Over."

"Roger that Citadel, three tier zero-assets. But who exactly are we looking for?"

"Stand by Phoenix one, we're sending you a visual now."

In the ensuing silence, the gunner looked back at his pilot. "Tier-zero assets? Who do you think we're after?"

His pilot's voice came from behind him "I have no idea."

"Phoenix one, this is Citadel. Sending you visually identification of your targets now."

The gunner watched idly as a section of his integrated heads up display flashed to signal the receiving of the data packet. After a moment, a cycle of images began to appear on his visor.

The gunner studied them for a moment before speaking back into his mike. "Citadel, are you sure you sent us the right pictures?"

"That's an affirmative Pheonix one, change heading to 033 now to intercept."

The gunner looked out his cockpit to see they had cleared the maze of passageways into the center of the mountain; the black night sky now completely covered them.

"This is Phoenix one, switching to FLIR" The gunner in the chopper flipped a switch, and the world suddenly became a series of gray shades in his display. It would be the best way of picking up their targets in the black of night. Scanning the horizon, he quickly picked out three bright white spots on the horizon, but something seemed odd about them. Ignoring his confusing, he relayed their position to his pilot. "I think we've got them, to o-clock low."

Tilting the apache, they vectored toward their intended target, rapidly gaining ground on the three white objects. As they approached, the gunner noticed why he had felt something off about their targets. They were flying.

"Man, they really weren't kidding. Citadel, this is Pheonix one, targets are in range."

"Roger that Pheonix one, you are weapons free."

Grabbing his control stick, the gunner aimed just above the targets in the distance. He really didn't want to kill them if he had the choice. Pulling the trigger, he heard the cannon mounted under his feet ring out with a few short retorts as watched as the traces raced over his targets heads. They immediately scattered, two breaking off to the left while the third came around to his right. Wanting to keep his targets together, the gunner swiveled his gun to the right, firing a bust in front of his approaching target.

It banked sharply and flew back to join its comrades before diving down into the treetops below them. The gunner spoke to his pilot. "See if you can keep them between us and the compound."

He could feel the apache move foreword quickly before the pilot pulled into a sharp bank, turning their bird and bringing it back to a hover.

"This is Phoenix one, they dove down into the trees." Amidst the grays and blacks, three bright white objects stood out. The gunner let out a smile; "we've still got them. They're still headed north away from the compound."

His radio crackled in his ear. "Roger that Phoenix one, you are not to engage the targets directly. See if you can drive them back towards the compound."

"Roger," The gunner turned his attention from his headset back to the targets on the ground. "Let's see if we can scare them a little bit.

Looking at the ground meters in front of the running targets, the cannon on the modified apache swiveled to aim at the gunner's target. Pulling the trigger, he watched as 40mm cannon rounds streaked into the ground in front of his targets, tearing though trees and foliage while leaving small craters in the ground.

It had the desired effect. All three targets stopped cold, none of them wishing to continue further. He could even swear he saw one of them look up towards the chopper.

Adjusting his aim slightly, he prepared another burst to begin pushing his targets back towards the compound. He didn't need to shoot close enough to hurt them, just to scare them where he wanted them to go.

He never got the chance to pull the trigger a second time

The gunner's display flashed a brilliant while before fizzling out to black. Sparks flew from the console in front of him as he felt the pilot behind him fight for control of the aircraft. Looking at the instruments in front of him, they were all either shorted out or going haywire.

Knowing his radio would be dead, the gunner ripped off his mask and yelled to the pilot behind him. "What happened! Did we get hit by something?"

"I don't know. If I didn't know better, I would say a bolt of lightning hit us, but this aircraft should be able to handle that. I've got it under control now, but all of my instruments are fired. We're no more than a flying paperweight now. I have to land this thing!"

"You don't hear any arguing from me!" The gunner settled down into his seat slightly, although he was far from calm. He couldn't do much to help fly his bird, but his pilot would need all the help he could get to land safely at night.

"What is this, some kind of farce? One guard, few cameras, no alarms on the doors? For being the most advanced facility in the country, you would think we could manage better security! And will someone explain to me how three tier-zero assets managed to literally walk out our front door!" A Man in his late sixties growled angrily at the other officers in the room. Know to others as General Russell, he served as the unofficial official commander of the Challis facility. Officially, he was supposed to have retired five years ago and returned home. Unofficially, he served as the armed forces liaison to the Challis researched base, but even that designation did not seem to hold any true meaning. With the base being controlled by an entity completely separate from any of the armed forces and independent from any other US agency, even the executive branch of the government, he was often an over decorated messenger. Although he held no power over the personnel within, he did maintain control of the surrounding army base used as protection, and in times of crisis, he often ended up as the person in command.

This qualified as a time of crisis.

He was currently in one of the bases briefing rooms, different displays lining the room with a large circular table in the middle of the room. Two other people stood in the room with him.

A man Russell knew as one of the research base's force field commanders spoke up from the other side of the room. "Tier-zero assets aren't supposed to exist. That's why they're tier-zero. The only reason we have something resembling a response team is because of some paranoid higher ups. This facility was meant for weapons and technology research, not the containment of fictional tier-zero assets. And even if we were more prepared, we have no idea what to expect from these things." Russell looked at the man with a small amount of contempt. They didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things, and Russell didn't bother to remember the man's name. "Many of the personnel on duty didn't even know there were any assets in the facility until the alert went off.

"That part ends here. You can be as secretive as you want with your group of friends, but those things are out in my wilderness now. It's my job to make sure they never leave it. I'm bringing in some of my own men to help look for them."

"You're not serious are you? Not one of your men has the security clearance to know what's going on inside these walls."

"But the problem isn't inside the walls anymore is it? If it makes you any happier, I'm only planing on involving one group of my soldiers." Russell set a packet of information he had been holding on the desk between them before pushing across the table. "There's a copy of whatever in information we have on the targets. I know I hold no authority here, but I suggest you try to take them alive. After all the trouble they've put us through, it will be worth it."

The man grunted as he picked up the packet and left the room, leaving Russell alone with the other man in the room.

"Corporal Johnson, what kind of damages are we looking at?"

The aid looked at his clipboard. "No casualties, thankfully, but one guard suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung, two others had mild concussions, a few more are suffering from differing burns, although they all seemed to be fist degree burns.

As for material damages, one section of the detention area is destroyed, there are bullet holes over sections of the base, two M1-A1 Abram Mk. III's were completely destroyed, and one of the modified AH-64 Apaches suffered a major systems failure."

Russell ran a hand through his graying hair. "Good lord…. Just what are we dealing with here…. Johnson, you said no casualties right?"

"Yes sir, the medical staff says they will all pull through fine if not a little worse for wear."

"Hmm…" the aged commander rubbed his chin as thoughts puzzled his mind

"Why do you ask sir?" The aid looked up from his clipboard to look at his commander.

"Nothing…. What about their trackers? Are they working?"

"All of them were found in the detention center, split open by the looks of it, but we can't quite tell how they managed to do it."

Russell let out another irritated grunt. "Why don't you just add that to the list of things we didn't think they could do? For heaven's sake, you would think we would treat tier zero-assets with a bit more professionalism. If word of this ever gets out, we will be the laughing stock of the world."

"Sir?"

"I'm sorry Johnson, I'm too old for this." Russell ran through the options in his head. They had lost all tracking on the assets, leaving the only option of searching for them on foot. He didn't want to leave that option out of his control though. Not only did he question the tactics of the research teams, but he was suspicious of their methods as well.

"Johnson, there was a group of our men that escorted their soldiers into the compound. Who was their squad leader?"

Johnson flipped through some more pages on his clipboard before looking back up. "Says here the squad leader for their group was a Captain Logan Winters."

General Russell smiled. "Winters? Good, I had hoped it would be him. Is he still in the motor pool?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Send someone to go get him. We need to have a talk."

Logan Winters sat half asleep in the front seat of his humvee, the wailing sirens of the base keeping him awake. They had all woken from a light slumber at the sound of the alarms, but the same solider that had told them to stay put earlier came over a second time, once again stating that they were not to leave without escort. Logan figured if they weren't being asked to help, the problem couldn't be too serious, but his instincts still kept him from falling asleep at the sounds of the sirens. The only two other people awake in his vehicle were Webster in the drivers seat and Malarkey on the FNG.

Small talk was minimal as they all were trying to catch some sleep, but the droning sirens seemed to keep it just out of Winters' grasp.

"Oh great, everyone's favorite sergeant is back." Webster's voice snapped Logan back to reality as he sat up in his chair. Looking around, he spotted the same sergeant as before heading towards their vehicle.

Logan waited until the sergeant knocked on his window before rolling it down; even then he only cracked it.

"Come on Winters, the general wants to see you." Without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked away from the vehicle, heading toward a nearby building.

Webster spoke up as Logan got out of the car. "The general huh, we must be in deep now…"

"You're telling me…" leaving his team, Logan quickly followed after the sergeant, knowing he would leave him behind without a second though. He was lead through a maze of corridors before finally stopping outside of a room with a solid metal door. The large label of "briefing room" above the door gave away its purpose.

The sergeant turned and motioned into the room, not bothering to hide the sneer in his voice. "The general will see you now…"

Logan walked casually into the room, the sergeant closing the door behind him.

"General Russell." Logan stood and saluted with a bit of shock. General Russell was supposed to have retired from the army years ago, seeing him in this facility was a bit of a shock.

"Logan, you're here so I can give you your next assignment."

"Sir?"

"No doubt you head the alarms. To say the absolute least, we have a problem." Russell gestured to the surrounding walls. "This facility is used as one of the foremost research and development bases in the United States. Officially, we don't exist. The surrounding army base goes under the cover of a depleted uranium depository. Unofficially, this facility houses the equivalent of two airforce bases worth of helicopters and VTOL aircraft, a full tank division, and a large infantry division separate from any division of the American military. The research and technology developed within this base is the likes of which the world has yet to see. There are things here that would put Roswell to shame. Very few people not from the private division that runs this base ever gets to see the inside To say the least, once you get in, which you now have, you never get out of the circle." Russell ran a hand through his receding hair in frustration. "and even with all of this advanced technology, some of the most advanced trained soldiers in the country, and miles of cavern systems to work with, the group running this facility cannot keep track of three weakened tier-zero assets. They've managed to let three tier-zero assets out into the surrounding forest. Normally, this would strictly fall under their jurisdiction, but after their recent blunder, I want some of my own men going after them as well. To say the least, I don't trust these people as far as I could throw them.

This means you will be going after thesis assets. Officially, you've been assigned by your CO to conduct a routine training mission with your team. Unofficially, I'm assigning you to bring back three escaped tier-zero assets by any means necessary"

"Tier-zero sir? Are we talking about the president here or something?"

General Russell almost let a smile cross his features. "You haven't really been briefed on these kinds of things have you?" He waited for Winters to shake his head. "Let's put it this way, the president is a tier-one asset."

"Sir, just what are you getting at?"

"Why don't I just show you?" General Russell pushed a tan folder across the table to Winters. "The basics of what you need to know are inside. I'm sorry I can't tell you more, but we do have to retain some security"

Logan hesitantly picked up the file. This was something bigger than he had ever been involved in. Opening the file, he rifled through a single sheet of information, and a few pictures.

General Russell waited patiently for Logan to process what information he was given. When he was done, Logan tossed the folder back onto the table.

"Is this some kind of a joke sir?"

"Tier-zero: a threat security level including anyone or anything not known to the current scientific world or considered a threat to the human species. Basically, if we don't know what it is or if it threatens the human race, it falls into this category. We do not make jokes about tier zero-assets."

Logan picked up the photos again, on showed a figure taking out two armed guards by itself. Another showed three unmistakable figures amid the destruction of what looked to be a detention block, one of the figures had inadvertently looked up at the camera.

"So you mean?"

"Yes. Those were dragons. Three of them to be exact. From what the return team said, two males and a female. We have no idea where they came from, or why they're here."

"So you want me to bring them back?"

"Yes. They won't be able to fly forever, and we have birds in the sky if they try. All we need now are ground teams to scour the area. This facility has its own teams for such operations. You escorted one back into the base; however, I don't trust their abilities, for now obvious reasons. You are the one squad from outside being assigned to this task, so do screw it up. Find them, and bring them back. If they won't come back, kill them. This cannot get out to the public."

"Yes sir."

"Good. You will be given partial access to this facilities armory. Nothing from the sci-fi department. But you need to make sure your men are equipped. Take some tranquilizers while you're at it. You're dismissed now, go wake up your team; you have a long road ahead of you."

"Yes sir.  
>"Logan. There's one more thing I want you to do. Officially, I can't give this order… not for renegade tier-zero assets. But I want you to try to take them alive. You didn't see the tapes, but I did. Even though they had the chance to kill a few of our guards that attacked them, they didn't. They showed intelligence, ingenuity, stealth, and restraint I haven't seen in any animal. I don't care what any of the 'experts' here say, I don't think these are as dangerous as we may think."<p>

"I'll try to sir, but if they're hostile…"

"I wouldn't expect you to do anything different." General Russell nodded in the direction of the exit. "Go. Brief your team. But remember, you will never speak of any of this."

"Yes sir." Logan turned and started to walk out the door.

"Captain Winters, I want them found."


	4. Chapter 3

Runners Chapter 3

Logan ambled through the featureless corridors that ran through-out the entire mountain complex, scanning the brief report that had what seemed to be thrown together. He flicked through brief paragraphs describing their body build and colours.

'It's a dragon?' Logan thought, still trying to fathom how the creatures could exist; let alone running wild in North America 'How am I going to tell the guys this?' He checked over his shoulder to make sure no prying eyes were looking and re-opened the file to go through the brief written description and photos obtained from the CCTV network center before the multimedia log was wiped clean.

He exited the tunnel network and skirted the edge of the main hanger, passing engineers mending chain-link fence next to the main entrance what seemed to be completely shut off and over guarded by multiple armored units and at least 20 odd soldiers.

"Wow" he muttered "Smart enough to get out of this 'top secret' base and they are now god knows where in Idaho" He scanned the text for the fourth time; for a military operation brief, it was ironically brief. There was no information on behavior, location or what they could do. It was like something copy and pasted from a website. To put it bluntly, it was a load of bull**** about how they are mythical creatures which can breathe fire and fly. The only help was the CCTV pictures which gave him a good representation on their scale against humans and their body build and appearance. He examined the pictures closely before returning all of the documents into the folder and turned his attention back to how he was going to break the news to his team on that they were going to start a wild goose chase around the mountains after some dragons: Not your average mission. But then again this isn't your average military base.

"Hey Sir, you okay?" Logan shook himself to reality when he realized he was stood next to his squads' Humvee with everyone staring at him in a peculiar way.

"Sorry" he said scratching the back of the head "I wasn't fully here, I was ... somewhere else"

"Meh, it happens to everyone" Moore smiled but the folder caught his curiosity "What is in the folder Sir?"

Winters looked down at the folder "That is information for our next mission, but I'm going to brief you somewhere else" he replied, earning a confused team "Saddle up!" The team once again hopped into the Humvee with Malarkey manning the .50 cal; Shifty, Moore and Heffron rode in the back seats while Webster drove and the Captain riding shotgun.

"So where are heading?" Webster asked

"You know where we came through, the large cavern" replied Logan

"Yeah"

"Head back towards it; there is a briefing room on the edge of the so called 'hanger' that we can use for the brief"

"Roger that Sir" Webster pushed the gear lever into place and the Humvee made its way back towards the hanger.

The once silent and sleepy base that they arrived in a few hours ago was now fully awake: large groups of soldiers rushing around, loading weapons and manning various posts along roads and key choke points. Various armoured vehicles had also emerged and were either patrolling the road ways around the base or reinforcing major choke points. Once they entered the hanger, they were met by a roar of engines as Ospreys and Apaches taxied out of hanger bays and parking on the tarmac near the landing and take-off pads.

"Wow, a lot of hassle for something" Shifty chuckled "I wonder if that thing we brought in had something to do with it?"

"Dunno mate" Heffron said "But it probably had something to do with that"

After another minute or two of driving, Webster pulled the vehicle up outside a doorway which headed up towards one of the many rooms that lined the wall of the hanger. "We're here guys, head inside" Logan ordered as he exited the vehicle, closely followed by Malarkey how had just jumped out of the turret hatch.

One by one, the soldiers filed into the doorway that was actually an elevator; Malarkey pressed the button marked 1 and the lift doors slowly closed and the soldier were dragged skyward under the influence that this mission would be like any other. A small ping indicated that the elevator had arrived and the doors opened to reveal a large room that had seating surrounding a strange table in the centre. Windows on the right looked out onto the hanger while the rest were barren apart from doorways and light switches.

"Alright guys, take a seat" Logan ordered "And keep an open mind because you are not going to believe half of this bull-"

-

The wind gently passed through the twilight as wild deer grazed in a small clearing in the vast forest as a lone doe grazed and foraged for what little food that she could find. She carefully paced across the highlighted grass, talking multiple mouthfuls of grass, flinching at every sound created by fellow wild creatures: natural and unnatural.

A large shadow stalked the doe silently through the undergrowth, carefully calculating its next move, not wanting to jeopardize its hunt. It pounced from the undergrowth with unnatural speed and quickly dispatched the doe. The dragon stood up triumphantly over his kill.

"Did you get it Rorick?" The green dragon looked over his shoulder to see a yellow dragon emerge from the tree line and into the twilight, closely followed by a slightly smaller red dragoness who plodded along heavily, leaning on the larger dragon for support.

"Yeah, I got it Krayt" Roderick replied "How is you sister holding up?"

Krayt turned his head to side "You okay Aurora?"

Aurora lifted her head from the dragon's side and smiled "I'm okay, apart from being tired-" She cut herself off when she felt her stomach rumble, emitting a low pitch growl. She immediately felt blood rush to her face causing her to blush, but to her benefit she was a fire dragoness it went unnoticed. "And maybe a little hungry…"

"Well then" Aurora looked up to see Rorick proceed to tear a hind leg of the doe and hand it towards her "eat up". She took the meat and looked at it with a blank face.

"Err, Aurora? You okay?" Aurora looked up to see her brother looking down towards her.

"Are we going to cook it?"

"No" Rorick said as he proceed to pull another large portion of meat from the doe and hand it to Krayt. "We can't risk gaining unwanted attention from a fire. Besides, I don't want to meet those things that we ran from back there"

"He does have a point sis, we can't risk being spotted by whatever they were back there" Kryat said "Besides, raw meat can't be that bad, right?" He looked over to see Rorick take a large mouthful of raw meat "He seems to enjoy it"

Kryat looked at the meat before nibbling along the edge. Comparing it to cooked meat, it didn't have certain qualities like the texture or flavor but the freshness of the just killed meat surely made up for it. He swallowed the meat and wiped his maw "Not bad" he said "Could be better, but considering the conditions, it could be worse"

"Yeah, we could be back in that …, that …" Aurora stammered, her voice frustrated.

"Underground Cavern?" Rorick finished through a mouthful of meat.

"Please don't remind me" Krayt, reminded by the memories, shook his head to clear his thoughts "Of that or those things inside there. But I wonder what they were?"

"What, those two legged things that looked like hairless cheetahs?" Aurora asked "I swear I heard one of them say 'Well there not human', they could be a human?"

"Possibly, but all I know for certain is that we are not in the dragon realms anymore and we should try and figure out how to get back" Krayt said "We should get going, try and get to …"  
>Krayt cut himself and looked to the tree tops.<p>

"What is it Krayt?" Rorick asked. He too looked around the tree tops dumbfounded at his fellow dragon's sudden mood change.

"We need to move. Now!" Krayt shouted "Quickly, get into the forest"

Rorick just stood there as Krayt sprinted into tree line. What was that dragon on? He thought.

"Aurora, we need to go" Aurora's head poked up from the belly of the fallen doe, her face was covered in its blood.

"What's the rush?" She gave her brother a confused glance. "Can't we stay a little longer?" She didn't get a reply as her brother was now preoccupied. He had flown just above the forest so he could get a better view of the surrounding landscape. He heard a faint noise which completely alien to him. He hovered in position as the as the sound grew louder and louder.

"Can you hear that?" He shouted down towards Aurora. She raised her head from the carcass and listened to the forest around her, but nothing seemed to be out of order. She only heard the wind passing through the trees, making the leaves rustle slightly. Aurora was about to doubt her brothers reaction until she heard a strange sound. A sound that sort of sliced the air and gradually grew louder and louder.

"What is that noise?" She asked, but before her brother could answer, he suddenly pulled his wings tight against his body and dropped 40 feet to the ground. His legs shuddered upon impact with the ground but his supported his weight. His face was panic stricken as he turned to his sister and shouted "RUN, NOW!"

-

Two AH-64U Apaches roared over the forest at break speed. They had their orders: Find the tier 0 assets and force them back towards home base. If unable to do so, eliminate them!  
>The two heavily armed apaches roared over the tree tops, the pilots skilfully navigating the maze of valleys that made up the national park. Behind them was Ghost wing. 14 powered rotary wing aircraft made up of 10 Apache's and 4 Osprey's laden with a crack infantry platoon and been deployed to a 20km grid to search for the assets.<p>

The pilot of the head of the formation, codenamed 'Ghost 2-1' was scanning the ground below him through a set of night-vision goggles. She flicked a small switch on her set of goggles to heat vision and valley floor lit up from heat signatures from various animals that littered her field of vision.  
>"Ghost 2-1 to Ghost 2-2, Please tell me you have found something. Over"<p>

"Ghost 2-2 to 2-1, negative on last message. Just the normal bunch of critters. Over"

"2-2, our shift is nearly up and I've got deer on my LoS. Fancy some of that tonight? Over"

"That sounds good 2-1, we'll shoot a couple and get the V-22's to pick 'em up. Over"

"Okay 2-2, I'll get a co- hold on, it was taken down by, … What is that? 2-2, check grid 46-56-32, calibrate on 56 degrees. Over"

"2-1, what is that?"

Ghost 2-1 focused her goggles onto her target. Suddenly, one rushed off into the tree line and out of her vision. The other two just stood there for a few moments before one of them came directly into her helicopter. It was a dragon! But as soon as it appeared, it disappeared into the trees.

"2-2, please tell me you saw that?"

"2-1, I think we're gonna' have to call off that deer hunt"

"Roger that 2-2" The pilot pressed a button on her control column which allowed her to speak on an open frequency to all other forces out on patrol. "Overlord, this is Ghost 2-1. We have a code Alpha-Red in grid 46-56-32. Tier 0 assets have been sighted. How copy? Over"

2-1 waited for a couple of moments before her radio in her flight helmet came to life.

"Ghost 2-1, this is Overlord. Message received. Redirecting Echo and Sierra wings towards your location. You have your orders, happy hunting. You're weapons free. Out"

"You heard Overlord ghost Wing, Light 'em up!" She moved her cannon until it was pointing in the general direction and pulled the trigger. The nose mounted auto cannon released numerous tracers into the night sky and burst into the forest with big explosions. These rounds were quickly followed by dozens more from fellow apaches. "Ghost Wing, deploy ground teams! All Apaches, pursue targets and drive them towards Gird 0!"

The hunt was on.

-

"I really don't see the point with all this fancy trash, just give me my M4 carbine, my knife and some C4 and I could deal with this fiasco in a couple of days"

"Quit moaning Heffron, we all hate the situation we are in so can your moaning and shove it up your –"

"Hey Moore, turn on the radio" Moore looked over his shoulder to see Webster jogging out towards their new Humvee. All of the team were dumbstruck about their new pieces of kit that was installed to the jeep like reactive armor, high tech gadgets and a new rotary chain gun that replaced the .50 Cal which lead the troopers to the recent revelations that:  
>a) Dragons actually exist<br>b) The new high tech equipment was far too complicated for them to use  
>c) Malarkey is very touchy about the .50 Cal MG on the jeep<br>d) It takes 4 people to restrain Malarkey when he gets pissed off

"Why Gunny? We won't get reception out here!" Moore replied

"Not that one, the radio these guys gave us" Webster muttered something to himself but it was inaudible to the other occupants of the vehicles. Moore turned the knob on the newly fitted radio bolted onto the dashboard only to hear an unusual amount of radio traffic over one frequency.

"Wow, looks like shits going down guys" Heffron said but his optimism was short lived as they started to listen to the radio messages.

_"Overlord, we have lost 2-4 and 2-9. Send medevac ASAP!"_

_"Overlord copies all, medevac en-route"_

_"All call signs, this Ghost 2-1. Target assets sighted, but they aren't coming quietly. We've lost two birds, request to fall onto code grey protocol. Over"_

_"Negative 2-1. We need them alive unless it escalates to Defcon A-1 threat, then grey protocol will be launched"_

_"Roger that Overlord, request all available units to converge on grid 46-56-32. The dragons are on the move bearing west 56 degrees. Out"_

The soldiers sat in the Humvee in silence. All of the doubts were now diminished, dragons existed and were in the United States. They all sat in the Humvee still pondering in their own thoughts when Logan, flanked by Malarkey carrying the old .50 Cal with a couple of spare boxes of ammo, opened up the Humvee's front door.

"Right, we're moving out lads" Logan ordered as he proceeded to throw Moore into the back seats of the Humvee "Where heading to Grid 46-56-32"

"Isn't that where the gunship are?" Heffron asked

"Yep, we've been ordered by the guy in charge to head out"

Meanwhile, Malarkey had jumped up onto the roof of the Humvee and sat with his legs dangling through the turret hole in the roof with the .50 Cal mounted alongside the more advance replacement. As the Humvee's engine coughed into life, a group of battered soldiers staggered out of a door-way from the armory. Malarkey simply waved at the group who, in turn, swore and sneered at the soldier as the Humvee headed towards the exit of the base and out into the wilderness.

"Oh yeah, what is it with Malarkey and that .50 Cal?" Moore brought up as they drove into the night...


	5. Chapter 4

Runners: Chapter 4

"Run, Now!"

Aurora didn't have to think twice. Turning tail, she darted into the relative safety of the canopy, Rorick and Krayt close behind her. Suppressing a chill down her spine, Aurora focused on the trail in front of her. The loud noises and her brother's panic could only be brought out by one thing.

The droning noise became incredibly loud as the vehicles moved overhead. How they were tracking her thought the dense canopy, she had no idea, but they were staying right in top of her as she darted through the forest.

Behind her, both Krayt and Rorick began snarling as their situation became clearer to them.

"What the hell are we supposed to do?" Rorick shouted as he jumped over a downed tree. "We can't fly, we can't hide, and ancestors know that we can't sit in the same spot."

"We could always try to fight them… but I'm assuming you think it's as good as of an idea as I do…" Krayt ran alongside Rorick, both breathing heavily not from exhaustion, but from anxiety.

"We barely got away from one of them last time, and there are way more of them up there now. There isn't a chance."

"Maybe we could…" Krayt was interrupted as the ground to their right exploded in clods of dirt in synch with a series of loud pops above them.

Krayt Jumped in front of Aurora and began to guide her off to the left. "What the hell was that? Are they shooting at us?"

Another series of pops linked up with more showers of dirt and the ground erupting to their right.

Rorick let out a low growl, "they're not trying to shoot us… they're trying to guide us…"

"Guide us where?" Aurora shouted from the front of the group. "Where ever it is it can't be good."

Krayt tightened the group, still shouting to be heard over the roar of the machines overhead "alright, next burst, we run through it after it passes. We can't let them dictate where we move."

Aurora wanted to protest, her muscles tightened in anxiousness, and every part of her body was screaming to get as far away from the hail of fire as she could, but before she could protest, another series of clacks came from above.

Krayt pushed his sister through the rain of dirt as he and Rorick turned and charged though the forest. Above them, Krayt could hear the sounds fade slightly. Still running, Krayt turned behind him. "Aurora, you keep running, Rorick, let's see if we can get a better look at these things and where they're trying to push us., just keep close to the treetops

Rorick nodded, and together they sprang up into the tree line, both weaving in opposite directions to make themselves harder targets. Aurora noted in the back of her mind that they seemed to work well together, but that thought was quickly suppressed as she was forced to concentrate on running through the trail in front of her.

Flinching at the sound of more clacks overhead, Aurora craned her neck in an attempt to spot Krayt or Rorick through the trees. Her fearers worsened when she heard a large explosion from behind her followed by strained noises coming from one of the pursuing machines.

Her fears turned to dread when both Rorick and Krayt came crashing thought the trees, both landing heavily on their backs. "Krayt!" Fear shot through her again as she approached her brother, but his and Rorick's groans of pain told her they were at least alive.

"Krayt, are you ok?" Aurora helped Krayt slowly stand to his feet, looking him over for injuries as he stood.

Krayt groaned and stretched his neck, a few bones popping back into place as he stretched. "I wouldn't say ok, but I can still move."

"Don't mind me… I'm ok too…" Rorick called out as he stood to his feet as well

Aurora shot him a look, but it softened as she saw him struggling to his feet. "Are you ok?" It was a sincere question.

Rorick grunted, "I'll manage."

Aurora smiled and nodded, getting a small smile from Rorick in return.

"Did you have to hit it like that?" Krayt took a sharp breath and recoiled as he tried to put weight on his right shoulder. Pain still shooting up his arm, he grit his teeth and forced his weight back onto his shoulder. They couldn't stop, not now.

"How was I supposed to know it would do that…?" Rorick limped forward a few steps as well, "it's not like we had much of a choice anyway."

Krayt grunted… "I know… it's just…"

He was interrupted by a heavy machine crashing through the trees above them, the heavy metal groaning as an especially thick tree caught the machine in its canopy.

"You did that…." Aurora looked at the smoldering wreckage. It was mostly intact, but she could see where one of its "wings" was crushed and mangled, small flames flickering out of the rear of the machine.

"Turns out their pretty fragile, I didn't hit it very hard." Rorick seemed to prance in place as his gaze flicked from the forest to the wreck. "Now is not the time though, we need to go. They'll be back soon."

Aurora narrowed her eyes, "There are people in there."

"That's not our problem now; we need to get out of here." Rorick took a few steps into the forest. Krayt close behind. "Come on Aurora."

Aurora looked at Rorick before glancing back at the flaming wreckage. "They're not getting out of there." She took a step back toward the wreckage before Rorick stepped up and stopped her.

"We need to go." Rorick nudged Aurora to move forward.

Krayt called to her from the tree line, "this isn't the time Aurora"

"We can't just leave them there to die!" Aurora looked back at the flaming wreckage in the trees; she could see a figure scrambling on in the inside of the machine

"They're the ones trying to kill us, now let's go…" Rorick pushed her forward, but she ducked under him and began to run toward the wreckage

"Damn it Aurora." Rorick growled angrily and took off after her, Krayt following closely behind.

Aurora had already jumped into the air and manage to perch herself on the machines' canopy, looking for a way to pry it open. Rorick landed heavily next to her, the whole helicopter swaying as he landed. "Are you nuts? These people are still trying to kill us!"

Aurora snorted as she scraped her talons on the glass, looking for a way to break the seal. "Yeah, well, we're here now, so you might as well quit yelling and find a way to help me out."

Rorick grunted again, before turning to the glass Aurora was struggling against. Dark splotches stained the glass and smoke filled the inside, making it hard to see. But even through the smoke, Rorick could see two figures inside. The one in front was slumped over a console, but the other was scrambling furiously inside, his gaze flicking from the straps across his chest, to the fire approaching behind him, to the dragons standing outside of his canopy. It seemed he was stuck.

Rorick looked at the glass canopy again. There was little to no way they were going to pry it open, he couldn't find anywhere for his talons to gain purchase on the glass. "This isn't going to work…" looking back, he could see flames licking closer to where they were standing.

"We don't have time for this. Aurora, stand back." Aurora had only a moment to back away before Rorick whipped his tail across the glass canopy, shattering it into pieces.

Rorick saw the man sitting in the back look up in shock before scrambling to pull something from alongside his right leg. He knew all too well what the motion entailed. Growling, Rorick quickly reached forward and pinned the man's arm against the seat, growling a low warning.

The man looked at him in fear again, and Rorick heard something metal clatter to the floor, the man's face draining of color and his body going limp. Satisfied that the man wasn't an immediate threat for the moment, Rorick gave another low growl before moving his talons to rip through the harness holding the man to the seat.

Grabbing the back of the man's uniform, Rorick wasn't gentle as he pulled the man from the seat, slinging the man under his arms as they perched precariously on the edge. His charge had long since given up struggling below him; Aurora was pulling the other person out as well.

"Let's go." Pushing off the wreckage, Rorick felt his wings strain as he tried to slow his decent. These people weighed a lot more than he expected.

Gliding away from the wreckage, Aurora and Rorick landed hard as they hit the ground, both dropping the soldier's to keep from falling over.

"Wow… they were heavy." Aurora groaned as she stretched her wings, taking a few slow steps in a circle.

"Do you know how stupid that was? I don't even know where to start." Rorick growled at Aurora as he began to push her deeper into the forest.

"Hey that's enough!" Kyat growled and pushed Rorick away. "We can't do anything about it now, so let's just go."

He was interrupted by a downdraft of wind as one of the machines parted the trees above them, a bright spotlight shining down into their eyes.

Krayt cursed "Run!"

The three dragons took off into the woods as heavy ropes from the machine slapped against the ground around them, Aurora taking the lead as Krayt and Rorick limped behind her.

Even while crashing through the trees, Aurora could still hear the shouting of the people behind her, only spurring her to fun faster. Her lungs began to ache as her feet thudded against the ground. It would have been so much easier to fly, but their pursuers made that option impossible.

Breaking out of the bushes into a clearing, Aurora took a brief moment to stop and catch her breath. It was at that moment that she realized that she was alone. The sounds of a chase still came from in the woods, but it all seemed farther away than it should have been. With growing concern, Aurora noticed that neither Krayt nor Rorick was with her anymore.

She hesitated as the sounds of the chase grew closer to her position. On one hand, it could be Krayt and Rorick catching up to her, but on the other hand… glancing around Aurora looked for somewhere else she could run… somewhere she could hide, but even when she found a possible alternative, she couldn't get herself to move. Her feet were rooted to the spot.

A green blur burst out of the trees, slamming into her and sending her rolling across the ground. Moments later, she felt herself getting pushed to her feet while her head continued to spin.

"Come on Aurora, we need to keep moving," Rorick was pushing her deeper into the woods toward an anxiously waiting Krayt. "We only have a few moments until they're onto us again, and that last machine dropped some onto the ground too."

Stumbling over her own feet, Aurora somehow managed to get her feet moving again, slowly returning to her dead sprint through the thick forest. It was a good thing too, as Rorick was right about the machines not being too far behind. In a matter of moments, the roar of the machined overhead assaulter her ears and fear began to rise in her chest as thoughts of bullets raining around her began to plague her mind

Aurora stopped as she heard a series of quick whooshes rush overhead, seconds later the forest in front of her disintegrated into a combination of fire and shrapnel. Turning her head away from the explosion, she was pelted by wooden shards, most of which bounced harmlessly off her scales.

Too stunned to move, she stared at the scene in front of her, what once had been lush woodland had been turned to smoldering wreckage in less than a second, and the attack had been far too fast for her to see. A sense of dread and fear began to eat away at her. If what they were going up against had that kind of destructive power…

Rorick pushing her to move once again brought her back to her senses. Looking over, she could just make out what he was saying over the chaos of noise around her.

"Come on! We need to keep moving. Run along the fire, we can't let them push us back the way we came."

Aurora cringed as she pushed through the now splintered forest, embers and sharp wood fragments digging into the bottom of her feet. With growing concern, she noticed the ground beneath her slope down with each step. Glancing to the side, she could see the edges of a ravine beginning to rise above them on each side. Behind them the sounds of the machines began to fade away. She didn't know if they had given up or simply lost them in the woods, but she didn't care.

"Krayt…." Aurora called to her brother nervously as the ground continued to slope up around them

"I know…" He scanned the forest quickly for options, "look, over there." Without waiting for the others, Krayt dashed into the trees. With no better options, Rorick and Aurora quickly followed him.

They quickly broke out onto a large dirt path running through the trees. Off in the distance, they could see traces of the road winding through the forest and out of the ravine.

"It looks like we could follow this out of here." Aurora motioned up the road.

"But for how long… we'd be exposed the whole way" Rorick looked back the other direction.

Krayt pointed down the road, "Lets follow this road for a second and see if we can get out of this gorge. Stick to the tree line, that way we can run back into them if we need too." Looking up at the sky, Krayt could see heavy clouds overhead, the sky glowing an eerie green color. "It looks like a bad storm is brewing, if we can outlast them until the storm gets here, we have a good chance of getting away, we just have to make sure we don't get caught in the storm too. Let's go before those things catch up to us."

Logan turned down the volume on the radio in the Humvee. He had turned it up to listen to a report coming in from one of the airborne squads, but now he almost wished he hadn't. Looking to the back of the Humvee, he could see the very faint traces of anxiety and disbelief on each member of his squad. No one wanted to believe that their targets had taken an aircraft right out of the sky.

"Eye's out squad, we're nearing the approximate location of where our targets were heading, if those reports were anywhere near accurate, which I highly doubt at the moment, they will be crossing this road in the next few minutes. So do me a favor and stay awake and watch the sides of the road. The sooner we can get off this carousel ride the better.

Logan's squad set its sights out the window, each solider looking for traces of their targets, but none knowing exactly what to look for.

"There! There in the ditch!" Moore's arm shot forward, pointing to the ditch on the front right side of the Humvee. Webster slammed on the brakes and whipped the car to the side, skidding the Humvee to a stop sideways in the road.

Logan braced himself against the dash as his body jerked from the sudden stop before looking up into the ditch. There in front of him stood three different dragons, all looking at him with a mixture of fear and confusion. Both groups stared at each other, the moment seeming to hang in the air.

It was only broken when one of the dragon's flared its wings in preparation to take off. Logan reacted quickly.

"Malarkey, keep them on the ground!"

A grin speak across Malarkey's face as he pressed down on the trigger, the .50 cal on the top of the Humvee roaring to life in sustained fire. The dragons reacted quickly, bolting into the woods in search of safety. Malarkey followed them with expert accuracy, spraying rounds above their heads and into the woods, obliterating trees and leaving an easily followable swath of destruction.

"What the hell did you put in that thing Malarkey?" Shifty looked from the decimated tree line up to Malarkey.

Malarkey gave a small grin. Reaching down, he picked up a new belt and showed it. A red ring was fitted around the top of the casing with a tungsten cone protruding from the tip

"Holy shit, is that a SLAP-T round?

Malarkey's grin only widened as he fed the belt into his 50-cal and pulled the charging handle

"You know we're trying to catch them, not turn them into a bloody pulp," Shifty steadied himself on the handle of the Humvee as Webster whipped it off the road and into the woods to pursue their targets.

Logan smiled from the front seat. "I wouldn't be making quips about the guy on the .50 shifty, besides, he knows he's not supposed to hit them…. yet."

"It's just such a waste of perfectly good ammo."

Hefferon smacked shifty from the other side of the Hummve, "hey, why bother when Uncle Sam is footing the bill. Those rounds might come in handy later too. Who knows how thick the scales are on those things."

Webster drove over a large fallen log, jostling the squad in the back of the Humvee and smacking Shifty's head against the roof causing him to grunt in pain. "Hopefully not as thick as Shifty's head!"

Moore picked Shifty's helmet off the floor of the Humvee and slapped it on his head "And you wonder why I tell you to keep your helmet on."

The Humvee sped on in pursuit, Webster somehow finding a way to weave through the trees and still keep their targets in sight.

"Did you see them? It's bizarre; they were in all different colors." Moore spoke with a sense of awe as he looked forward, his hands tightening around his rifle.

Webster shouted from the front seat. "Moore? You see mythical creatures that aren't supposed to exist, and you're most interested in the fact that they come in different colors?"

Shifty piped in. "Yep, get your mythical creatures here. Now in a variety of colors for your personal preference!"

Logan couldn't help but smile a little as he studied himself on the handle of the Humvee. "Alright, can the chatter. Webster, eyes on the road, or at least what you're using as one. Malarkey, try not to get your head taken off up there, and Moore, quit your gaping and pull out that map, tell me where they're taking us."

Moore grumbled and began to pull a large laminated topographic map from a pouch on his chest rig, the cumbersome paper necessary due to the restricted GPS over the military base and buildings not officially on record.

Pushing Shifty forward, Moore slapped the map across his back and began to scan his fingers across it. "It looks like they're running deep into a gully; no way up except back the way we came. If we can keep them on the ground, we'll have them corralled. The only problems we might have are a few caves at the end here, but the maps say they're all dead ends. Looks like you have about a minute until we're at the edge of the gully, Webster."

"Alright, headsets on everyone. Stay quiet so we don't spook them. Keep them on the ground Malarkey. Moore, Webster, Hefferon, you cover the right side. Shifty, you're with me. I want you to keep your distance from these targets, we have rifles, and we might as well use them." Each member of his squad responded quickly, pulling their headsets onto their heads and turning them on

Seconds later, their Humvee broke through the trees, Webster slamming on the brakes to keep from crashing into a large stone cliff face in front of them. They had chased their targets to exactly where Moore had predicted, the gully convening into a large semicircle in front t of them. The dragons were trapped,

"Let's move.

Malarkey let lose a burst from the fifty, peppering the stone above the dragons and showering them with dirt and rock, while Logan moved with the rest of the squad out of the vehicle, taking up positions to pin the dragons against the pocketed stone wall.

Logan saw the two dragons in front bare their teeth and let out a low growl, they were obviously protecting the female dragon they had pushed to the rear. "Everyone be careful, these things seem to run on instinct, and they're not going to like getting cornered. They haven't moved at us yet, so don't make a move unless they do. The plan is simple; we sit here and wait until one of the helio's catches up. Then we can make a move from there. Keep an eye out for one of them trying to attack though, if that happens, I want all three of them taken down, no hesitation."

Several clicks through his headset signaled his team's conformation.

Tense moments passed as Logan waited for the backup that was minutes behind them, and the dragons seemed to sense it as well. Each twitch was met with a louder growl or the swivel of a rifle, neither group breaking concentration. But to Logan's surprise, nothing happened past that. His targets didn't move, didn't try to attack, and didn't act like any feral animal he knew of.

The stalemate was broken by the all too familiar sound of rotor-wash coming over the tree tops, signaling the air support Logan had hoped for. But the dragons had noticed it as well, and Logan saw a look of recognition and fear cross their faces before each turned and bolted into one of the caves pocketing the wall behind them Logan knew to lead to a dead end.

"Flashlights on, perimeter around the cave, but don't get too close, let's see how deep this goes and wait for our 'backup' to arrive." His squad immediately closed on the cave, flashlights on the rails of their weapons flicking on to illuminate the otherwise dark cave. What he saw surprised him though.

One dragon, the green one, stood in front of the other two, his eyes closed and his front feet spread apart and braced against the ground. Something wasn't quite right.

"Whoa, whoa, back up guys…" Logan took a step back followed by the rest of his squad as he kept his eyes focused on the dragon. He only took another step back as he felt the ground begin to shake beneath him. His mind quickly flashed back to the pictures he had seen in the report, particularly to a pair of tanks ripped apart by rocks jutting from the ground.

"Take him down!"

but Logan's call came a second too late, the sound of gunfire from his rifle was easily overpowered as a cluster of rock spikes jutted from the mouth of the mouth of the cave, all of them converging in the center and forming a solid stone wall over the mouth of the cave.

As the sound of ricocheting bullets and gunfire stopped echoing off the surrounding the walls, he and his team were left in stunned silence.

Shifty lowered his rifle first and turned to the rest of the team. "Did anyone else just see what happened?"

Logan lowered his weapon as two apaches and an osprey appeared in the clearing overhead, his mind still filled with disbelief over the sheer power behind the dragon, and the fact that it hadn't been directed at his team. As ropes from the osprey slapped against the ground, he tried to figure out how to explain what had just happened.

Shifty turned to look at the cave and then back again. "Seriously, am I the only one who saw that happen?"

Webster smacked the back of his head, his face stoic. "Shut up for a second will you."

Logan shook his head in disbelief. "Oh they are never going to believe this.

Rorick let out a strangled gasp as he released the flow of energy, the rock wall now completely covering the entrance save for a small gap at the top. They were safe for the moment, but they were also trapped.

"Rorick, can you tell if there's a second way out of here?" Krayt's voice echoed off the walls of the cave.

Rorick was quiet for a moment before shaking his head. "No doesn't seem like it. Our only way out is back the way we came. I'm sure I could break through that wall if we need to, but it's going to be a while."

Aurora let a burst of fire jet between her teeth, briefly illuminating the otherwise dark cave. "I would bet our friends outside will be trying to get through as well, and seeing what they could do with those machines, they probably won't have any issue doing it."

"It's possible they won't even bother," Krayt scraped his talons on Rorick's erected wall, "if they know this cave doesn't go anywhere, they might just wait for us to come out. They know we can't say here forever."

Rorick shot another forlorn look at the rock wall "even though I left a hole at the entrance of the cave, I don't know how long the air in here will last. If we pushed it, we might be able to spend the night here, but I wouldn't suggest it…" As his eyes adjusted to the faint light filtering thought the hole, Rorick caught the saddened looks of Aurora and Krayt

Krayt nodded, "your right, but even so, we've bought ourselves a few minutes rest. Aurora, you and Rorick should go rest; I'll stay up here and watch just in case."

"Are you sure?" Rorick looked questioningly at Krayt, "I could stay up here if you want, you need rest as much as we do."

"Not quite, Aurora isn't used to this, and you just erected a large stone wall. You both need it more than I do at this point. Just go rest; I'll let you know if anything happens."

"Alright, if you say so…" Rorick turned and walked toward the back of the cave where the roar of the rain wasn't as loud, Aurora followed closely behind him.

A loud crack of thunder caused both dragons to spin toward the entrance quickly, both startled by the sudden noise. Aurora pushed up against Rorick, and he placed a wing around her protectively. At first it was simply instinct, but the feeling of Aurora shaking against his body soon made him aware of his position. Taking a step back, Rorick used his wing to draw Aurora toward the back of the cave. "Come on, let's go lay down. We have a moments rest; we might as well use it."

Rorick led her to the back wall of a cave and motioned for her to lie down. Once she had seated herself, Rorick laid down beside her. It unnerved him a little to be this close to a female he didn't really know, but the thought was pushed to the back of his mind as exhaustion took over. As he lay there, Rorick became aware of Aurora trembling beside him. Extending his wing again, he pulled Aurora to lie up against his side.

Aurora gave an embarrassed smile as Rorick's wing tightened around her. "Sorry… I just can't stop shaking…"

Rorick returned a comforting smile, "not used to having so much adrenalin wearing off?"

"No… I don't think I've been so scared, or so tired, in a long time. This isn't exactly something I'm used to." Aurora shuddered again, causing her to turn her head away from Rorick in embarrassment.

Rorick gave an amused snort, "running from those things isn't exactly what I'm used to either you know."

"yeah, but you and Krayt react like there's nothing to it while I'm struggling just to put one foot in front of the other. I don't know how you two manage to do it." Aurora sighed heavily and set her head on the ground.

"Well I can't tell you how your brother manages to do it, but I know that I do it because it's the only thing I can do. Each moment I have the decision to keep fighting, or to just give up and lie down. I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to give up yet." Rorick pulled his wing tighter around Aurora and turned his head to look her in the eyes. "You shouldn't sell yourself short; you have come just as far as your brother and I have. A lot of other dragons would have given up by now. You've done more than you think by just moving forward. Don't think that we're doing anything different, we're just a little bit better at hiding our feelings."

"Thank you Rorick…" Aurora yawned as her shaking finally stopped.

"Go ahead and sleep, your brother and I will keep watch, and you might not get another chance soon."

Aurora nodded and looked at the ground "Um… Rorick, I'm sorry about earlier… I know I shouldn't have gone back there…"

Rorick let out a heavy sigh, "Don't worry about it, it wouldn't have done us any better if we had left them, and thanks to you I have a clear conscience. Please don't make it a habit though." Rorick smiled and nudged Aurora.

She returned the smile. "Alright, I won't."

"I do have one question though. What made you go back for them? Most other people would have high tailed it out of there without a second thought."

Aurora hesitated a moment before answering. "It just seemed so senseless to me… that those people would have to die. They seemed like soldiers, and we're not actually trying to kill them. I guess I just hope someone would do that for me if I was in that kind of a situation."

"I guess, but how often are you going to find yourself in a situation like that?"

Aurora smiled again, "After today, I don't know…."

"I suppose you're right. You should get some sleep though. We have a long road ahead."

Aurora nodded and shifted closer to Rorick, but looked up when he stiffened, "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable…"

Rock quickly shook his head dismissively, "no, you're fine, I don't mind."

Aurora shuffled closer again, "ok…" shifting her head alongside Rorick; Aurora closed her eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep.

Rorick waited until Aurora was fast asleep before letting out a pent up breath. He had been forcing his body to remain still thought the entire conversation. The truth be told, he was just as scared as she was, and he had no idea how he had managed to make it through talking with Aurora without breaking down. Anger, fear, relief… everything seemed to rush though him at once, but his mind wouldn't let the emotions slow down. Whatever was hunting them was just outside the cave entrance, and he knew it would only be a matter of time until they would be running again or captured.

Rorick shifted and drew Aurora closer with his wing, as much for his own comfort as hers. The cold cave floor was sucking away what little body heat he had left, and what little food he had pulled from the doe wasn't doing much to give him energy.

Setting his head down next to Aurora, Rorick tried to share his body heat to catch some sleep, but his anxiousness and the ebbing cold made it impossible for him. Not to mention what was waiting for them outside the cave entrance.

Taking a deep breath, Rorick tried to quell the anxiousness in his chest, but the doubts plaguing his mind kept his stomach churning. His instincts and his pride had kept him calm and positive in front of Aurora, but experience told him what little chance they actually had. They were in an unknown land against an unknown enemy that not only vastly outnumbered them, but used technology that Rorick knew was far beyond anything he was used to.

If it had just been him, he might have been captured or killed already, either from choosing to stand fight or from getting cornered by him. Running really wasn't his style.

But he wasn't alone. Krayt gave him someone to rely on… a comrade in arms. And Aurora gave him a reason to keep running. As much as he wanted to live, he might have been able to accept him fate, to go down in a blaze of glory. But she deserved more than that, and his instincts drove him to protect her.

A few more minutes passed before the sound of talons against stone broke the silence of the room

Rorick looked from the sleeping form or Aurora up to the darkened outline of Krayt, "do you want me to go watch?"

Krayt shook his head. "I figure it won't make a difference, if they make it through that wall, we have ourselves cornered. We might be able to hold them off for a while, but I doubt we would make it out of here."

Rorick nodded sadly, "what do we do then? I might not have much energy left, but I'm up for anything that might put us on the winning side."

"I'm not sure, but I might have an idea. Not long after the rain started, the loud droning from those machines faded away. If I'm right, and were lucky, they left because of the heavy rain. With those things out of the air, we might be able to fly long enough to get away from whatever they left on the ground."

"We can't fly out in that rain, "Rorick voiced his concern but didn't object. Experience had taught him that there was often more to a plan that what was heard the first time

"I know, but now is our best chance of getting out of here. We may not be able to see out there, but neither can they. We just have to get far enough away from them so they lose our trail."

"So you're saying we should just wing it for a couple hundred meters? Are you sure that's a good idea? If one of us gets hurt it's going to make for one short escape plan."

"I know… I know… but I can't think of a better alternative, and we're running out of time. I can hear them moving outside, and I think they're planning something as well."

Rorick stayed silent for a moment, trying to come up with a better alternative to throwing themselves at the mercy of the storm. But much like Krayt, he couldn't find any. Letting out a heavy sigh, Rorick shook his head. "I guess you're right. We should get going."

"I guess we should wake her up then…" Rorick motioned to the sleeping Aurora.

"Wait…." Krayt hesitated and sat down. "I want to ask you something first."

Rorick took another glance at Aurora before turning back to Krayt. "Alright, shoot."

"You and I both know just how slim our chances are at the moment, but Aurora still has hope, even if she's terrified." Rorick nodded, "I just wanted to say… If something were to happen to me… Could you make sure Aurora gets out of here safely? She's my sister, and I need to know someone can take care of her."

Rorick gave Krayt a skeptical look "She's not that much younger than you is she? And it seems like she's a strong dragoness."

"I know that, but she's my sister. I need to know someone will be there to push her in the right direction."

Rorick looked at the ground, "If it comes to that… I'll make sure your sister is safe."

"Thanks, I know we don't know each other very well, but this means a lot."

"Not a problem. We should get going though. Do you want me to wake her up now?"

"Hold on, I got this…" Krayt smiled and walked over so he was facing Aurora. Nudging her with his nose, Krayt spoke softly to his sister, "Hey Aurora, quit snuggling up against your boyfriend and get up, we have places to be."

Aurora's eyes shot open as her brother woke her, uttering a small squeak from under Rorick's wing.

Rorick let his wing get brushed out of the way as Aurora quickly shot to her feet, a slight red tinge on her cheeks even with the low light and the color of her scales.

He laughed as Aurora's angered gaze turned on her brother. She held the look for a few moments before they too broke into laughter.

Rorick's grin only grew wider… Just for a moment, they were at peace.

But they all knew it couldn't last forever.

""What's going on?

"We need to get out of here before the storm lets up. We might not get another chance like this, and we can't wait any longer." Krayt motioned toward the door. "Once Rorick breaks down the wall he made, we're going to fly out and over the cliffs to our right. If we get over those, and their machines aren't behind us, we should be able to lose them for a while."

"We're going to fly out in that?" Aurora could still hear the torrential rain outside.

"We're at least going to try…"

Logan laughed as the troops outside the Humvee stumbled and fell in the thick mud. The crew had hoofed it all the way to the cave after their Osprey had dropped them in the woods, and they had been stranded without shelter once their transport left due to the heavy rain. They had been waiting outside the cave for some time now, leaving Logan more time to ponder the strange occurrence he had seen earlier.

He however, remained relatively dry in the closed canopy of the Humvee with the rest of his squad. Just one of the benefits of being on the ground.

Added Webster nudged him on the shoulder, breaking him out of his musings. "Looks like one of them is headed this way."

"We'll he's not getting in my vehicle if that's what he's looking for" Logan cracked the window as the solider approached, frowning as rain splattered through the open window. "How can I help you…?" Logan scanned the soldier's black uniform for any trace of rank, after a moment he caught a familiar insignia on his left arm. "…Lieutenant?"

The lieutenant scowled and replied in a gruff voice. "Command wants us to blow the entrance to the cave, more accurately, they want you and your squad to set the charges and then provide support as we sweep the cave. Have one of your men set some charges; we want to be ready in ten minutes."

"I didn't receive any commands, we have a radio too you know…"

"Capitan, you and your squad are here as liaisons, as far as you're concerned, you take orders from us, regardless of the circumstance, now get your men ready, I want that wall ready in ten." Without waiting for a reply, the lieutenant walked back into the darkness to rejoin his squad.

Webster looked over from the driver's seat. "So what do we do?"

Logan sighed. "As far as we're concerned, he's right. We'll follow along for now."

Shifty groaned from the back seat. "That means one of us has to go out in that rain... I don't want to go"

"It's not like any of us do Shifty, "Moore slapped the back of his helmet. "What are we going to do, draw straws?"'

Logan turned around and smiled "why don't we let out 'demolitions expert' go out and do it."

"Do I have to go out there?" Heffron groaned as he looked at the torrential rain through the window

"Hey, cheer up, you're the one who gets to place the charges on the wall" Webster smiled as he tossed a bag of plastic explosives back to Hefferon. "Besides, it will put that fancy education of yours to work."

"Still doesn't mean I like getting wet…"

Logan turned around to scowl at Hefferon "You're going to be more than wet if you don't get out there and set those charges. Now move!"

"Alright, alright…" Hefferon kicked open the door of the Humvee before slowly trudging out into the pouring rain.

Once Hefferon had walked his way out of earshot, Shifty' spoke up from the back of the Humvee. "Wow, it was easier to get him into the rain than it was to get Malarkey out of it. Man I thought we were all going to get soaked with how long he stayed up on the fifty."

Malarkey wordlessly reached over and punched him in the arm.

"Hey, I'm just saying, some of us want to stay dry."

"Cut it out Shifty, or you're going to be out there helping Hefferon."

"Fine." Shifty pouted at Logan and sat back in his seat. "Do you think we're going to be support on this whole operation? It's not like I think it's bogus after what we saw on the road, but why are they keeping us as backup? Since when have we pulled backup duty?'"

Webster spoke from the front seat. "They're all in their exclusive little club in there, and to them we're just some hobo's who wandered in. Just don't step on their toes and this will be as painless as possible."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"I didn't say you did."

The Humvee drifted off into silence again, and Logan returned to watching Hefferon set the charges in the high beams, methodically pulling a charge from the wall and attaching it the stone covering on the cave. Reaching into the bag again, Hefferon pulled out another charge only to have it fall from his hands and bound away from the mouth of the cave. Logan laughed as Hefferon cursed, walking over and pending down to pick up the dropped charge.

That's when everything changed. Hefferon disappeared in a shroud of dirt and rocks as the mouth of the cave blew outward with a resounding boom.

"Shit! Did those charges go off?" Logan had kicked open the door and was half way to the mouth of the cave before the rubble had hit the ground.

"No way, that wasn't loud enough to be C4, and the blast went the wrong wave." Webster was right behind him, his shotgun shouldered with its flashlight scanning the entrance.

"Captain, Hefferon was still setting the charges." Shifty formed up behind him, the tension still in his voice.

"We make sure it's clear first, and then we get Hefferon." No sooner had he spoken, then all hell broke lose

"Contact!"

Three blurs shot out of the cave into the heavy rain, one plowing into a member of the airborne squad and knocking him to the mud. Logan's squad swiveled to follow the attackers, but between the rain and the scrambling of the other quad, their attackers were indistinguishable in the chaos.

"Shit where are they?"

Logan ducked as the sound of rifle fire erupted around them, some of the rounds bouncing dangerously close off the rocks around them. "Damn bunch of greenhorns. They're going to get us all killed."

"Logan look, up there." Webster pointed his rife into the air, the flashlight on his rifle silhouetting a shape above them."

"Malarkey, light up the sky!"

Behind them, Logan could hear the .50 on the Humvee roar to life, Malarkey filling the sky with a hail of tracer rounds. Between the brief flashes from the gunfire and the glow of the tracer rounds, he could barely make out three dark shapes weaving through the air before disappearing off into the night.

Second later the gunfire quieted down, making the falling rain unnaturally loud in the otherwise silent night.

Logan let a few second pass before speaking. "Everyone here ok?" four affirmatives brought a small amount of peace to his troubled mind. "Alright then: Moore, Shifty, you're with we, were going to get Hefferon, Webster, you go make sure none of those idioms over there shot themselves, and Malarkey..." Logan looked back to see him still scanning the sky with the .50 "You just keep doing what you're doing. Let's move."

Logan and Moore moved quickly toward the entrance to the cave, their flashlights scanning the ground for signs of their squad mate.

"Over there." More pointed his flashlight at the ground, illuminating a groaning figure."

"Hefferon, are you ok? Can you hear me?" Logan knelt down and brushed some of the smaller rocks off Hefferon's chest as Moore reached down and checked his vitals

Hefferon groaned from the ground "Go plant the explosives, they said… You'll only get a little wet, they said…"

Logan smiled and pulled Hefferon to his feet, much to Moore's displeasure. "I think you'll be alright."

"Doesn't mean that was any fun… felt about like a horse kicked me in the chest…"

"Or maybe a dragon…" Logan looked over the debris field. It was scattered almost thirty meters from the entrance to the cave, making him wonder just what kind of power these dragons had.

"Hefferon, let Moore check you out, I'm going to see what those airborne guys are up to."

"Yes sir." Hefferon and Moore both nodded as Logan walked away, passing Webster as he walked back to the Humvee.

"So Webster, did any of them manage to shoot each other?"

Webster smiled, "Not that I can tell, I don't know who these guys are, but private military or not, they can't shoot worth shit. Looks like one of those dragons hit one of them pretty hard though, he's unconscious, but he'll be ok."

"Alright, thanks… go ahead and round up the rest of the guys and wait in the Humvee" Logan looked around again, spotting their commanding officer standing off in the tree line. Walking over, he tried to manage some civility as began to speak.

"Lieutenant, you seem to be the ones that are supposed to know what's going on here, so do you mind filling me in?"

The lieutenant, his black clothing soaked and his rifle slung across his back, turned to Logan.

"It looks like the mouth of the cave blew outward, allowing the three targets to escape. It was probably caused by excessive pressure one the rock above due to the heavy rain."

Logan ignored the stupidity of the statement, "Excessive pressure huh? Did you see where they went?"

"No, they moved fast, and the rain was too heavy to get an accurate shot on anything."

"No kidding, you almost shot us in your carelessness, not to mention your own team. Did you even stop to consider the fact that you were shooting into a solid stone wall?"

"That's not the point…"

"Sure it isn't. Do we at least have something to go on?"

"No, they're gone, and there's no telling where or how far they could have gotten in this rain."

"So you're telling me we have no idea where they went" Logan resisted the urge to run his hand across his face.

"No, and it will be a while until our birds can be up in the air again."

"Well shit…."


End file.
